Naruto of the true Ice
by Titosch
Summary: The Senju clan was revered for it's prowess on the battlefield but why was this the case? What is the Senju Kekkei Genkai? For many years people have tried to answer this. When Naruto gets the needed explanation at a young age how will that influence his life and decisions as a Shinobi of Konoha? (Senju Naruto, Hyoton Naruto, different Team AU)
1. Chapter 1

**Naruto of the true Ice**

 _Ever since the Senju clan was formed it's members have been revered and even feared for their abilities on the battlefield. Just like with the Uchiha there hadn't been a single generation without outstanding prodigies. Nearly every member of the clan was blessed with bigger than normal chakra reserves and an atleast mediocre control over that same chakra._

 _That is not to say that every Senju or Uchiha was a prodigy or an exceptional shinobi. The fact alone that not every Uchiha unlocked the Sharingan was proof of that. Just like with every other clan there were those that just didn't have the drive or talent to become shinobi._

 _But in the end the Uchiha and Senju had a higher percentage of children with the ability to become shinobi then other clans._

 _When people asked themselves why the Senju were such exceptional fighters the answer „It's in their blood." was a suitable and sufficient explanation for most. But did it tell the whole story?_

 _What exactly in the Senju blood made them such exceptional fighters. The Uchiha had their Sharingan and just like the Senju had a generally higher amount of chakra at their disposal then other clans._

 _But what was it that made the Senju that strong? The bigger then normal chakra reserves and the control necessary to make some use of it even with out much training was certainly helpful but chakra and the ability to use it to some degree still didn't make a good shinobi._

 _While it was rumored that the Mokuton of the Shodaime Hokage Senju Hashirama may have been the long lost Kekkei Genkai of the Senju, the ability to use Mokuton had never again occurred within the clan so didn't seem to be the right answer._

 _In the end the answer to all of it is that the chakra of a Senju has a substantially different 'structure' when compared to that of non-Senju. It gave their chakra a certain fluidity that remained until the body fully matured in regard to it's chakra. Meaning that until the chakra coils and the chakra core of a person have fully matured which happened around the age of sixteen their chakra could be 'shaped' in different ways. With this in mind it explains how Senju Hashirama was able to use Mokuton jutsu. He just used his natural affinities for Doton and Suiton and combined them, possibly by accident, and created the Mokuton that he became famous for. His brother Tobirama on the other hand had only one natural affinity, his being towards Suiton, which allowed him to focus on only this element hence making him the representation of the level that many Suiton users want to achieve even now, years after his death._

 _Senju Tsunade the officially last Senju today has used this Kekkei Genkai in a different way then her ancestors though she probably did so not knowing of it's true effects. She focused much of her time while training on the aspects of Iryo-ninjutsu which would explain her famous skills in healing. While the Shodaime Hokage was able to heal aswell. After researching this to the best of my abilities I have concluded that the healing that he was famous for was only self-healing which may have come with the essence of Mokuton being the creation of life to some degree. While he was also a known medic it is never stated that he was exceptionally skilled at it atleast compared to Shinobi that focused primarily on healing._

 _Since most of the clan's documents are not available for my eyes since only the current head Senju Tsunade could give anyone else access to them I can not confirm if other members of the Senju clan have had similar theories about the essence of their Kekkei Genkai._

' _I hope that this theory will find confirmation before the Senju clan will be extinct. Since Tsunade does not seem have plans for having any children I hope that my children will be able to keep the clan alive once they are made aware of their heritage.' thought Minato before sealing the scroll after adding the date to the scroll that he had been writing on. **20** **th** **of february (1 month after Kushina has become pregnant)**_

* * *

It had been a long night for Sarutobi Hiruzen.

When he first sensed the Kyuubi's chakra he had obviously been worried. While he had been well aware of the risks that were involved with Kushina giving birth he had had faith in Minato and his skill in Fuinjutsu. Since he wasn't able to get any details from the now deceased parents and the nurse aswell as his wife were dead (that was one of the things that Minato had been able to tell him) he could only guess to what had happened in the cave. After he had brought Naruto into his now again office he had gone to the cave that Kushina was supposed to give birth in. After seeing the killed ANBU around the place he had known that something more had happened here but what that was he was not sure. After calling his most trusted squad of ANBU he had all the bodies recovered so they could be buried.

Now he was sitting in the Hokage office and was contemplating what to do about Naruto and the village population. At first he had wanted to announce Naruto's status to the village but he had thought better of it. While he would have to tell atleast the shinobi portion of the council as long as the civilians didn't know Naruto could grow up somewhat normally in the village. He wasn't sure if he would ever tell the civilians of Naruto's status or atleast not until Naruto could decide himself if he wanted them to know, but the Shinobi population would have to know eventually. And then there was the matter of his heritage….

Minato had told him of his relation to the Nidaime Hokage and with it the Senju clan when he became a Jonin. When he arrived at the sight of the Kyuubi's sealing Minato had only been able to tell him two things, One: he wanted for Naruto to be respected for carrying the Kyuubi some day and two: that he had to read a certain scroll and the letter that could be found on Minato's desk at his house.

Having read both the letter and the scroll made Hiruzen wonder what the future would have in store for the little boy. One thing was certain though. The little blond haired blue-eyed child laying in his office right now was basically destined to be a great Shinobi and he would do his best to give him the best chance at doing so.

For now he had a council meeting to suffer through.

* * *

After much discussion between the Hokage, the Elders and the Shinobi Council it had been decided that Naruto could not be put in the care of any of the clans. Instead he would be put in an orphanage so he could be looked after for the first years of his life.

While Hiruzen and some of the clanheads hadn't necessarily been happy about the decision they also knew and understood the reasoning behind the action.

Hiruzen would have taken Naruto in himself but his duty as Hokage wouldn't allow to care for a child that young. Another thing that prevented Naruto from being cared for by any of the clans was his Senju heritage. While only Sandaime knew of it he was aware of the fact that Naruto would hold a high amount of political sway in the village when he was old enough so he couldn't let any of the clans be able to get him on their side for the future. Should Naruto prefer certain clans over others on his own later on that was his decision but Hiruzen didn't want him to be influenced because of his heritage too early.

He was still not sure at what point he should tell the village of Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki and a Senju. Another problem were the Uchiha. When Sarutobi had announced that the Kyuubi had been sealed in to Naruto the clanhead Fugaku had gained a expression that was half angry and half plotting. While Sarutobi didn't distrust the Uchiha as much as his sensei Senju Tobirama a certain amount of weariness had still rubbed off onto him.

After thinking about it Hiruzen had decided to have one of his ANBU watch Naruto just to be safe.

So for the next 4 years Naruto grew up like any normal child in the orphanage that he had been placed in. The only difference being that Naruto got a couple of visits from the Hokage every month. While he wasn't aware of this fact at first it had been explained to Naruto the last time that they met when Sarutobi had told him some stories from his youth.

When listening to these stories Naruto couldn't help but imagine himself becoming a Ninja one day. He had seen some of them around the village but it hadn't happened that often. So the next time that the Sandaime came to visit and take him with him to his office Naruto immediately asked if he could hear some more stories about Shinobi.

At the end when it was time for Naruto to be brought back he asked the Sandaime the one question that would set him on a path towards greatness.

"Can I become a Shinobi too?"

Hiruzen had at first been surprised to hear the question so soon. Although he had anticipated that Naruto would someday ask him about it he didn't think that he would do so this soon.

While real training was obviously not possible since Naruto's young body wouldn't be able to sustain physical conditioning he could still start and learn about chakra and the necessary knowledge that was attached to it.

"Very well Naruto-kun, I will give you some things that you can read so that you are better prepared. Since you are a bit young for real training we will focus on giving you the knowledge you need. Should you need any help understanding the things written in the books just ask me the next time I come to see you." said the Sandaime. After that he went to one of the bookshelf in his office and took out 4 books and one scroll before placing them in the bag Naruto always carried when he went outside.

"Thank you very much." said Naruto with a big smile that reminded Sarutobi for a moment of a certain red-haired Kunoichi. The Sandaime was stopped from remembering any more when he felt two small arms around him. Looking down he could see Naruto hugging him. Seeing this the Hokage hugged back before the two separated. After saying a quick goodbye Naruto left the Hokage office and the Hokage tower before making his way to one of the usually vacant parks.

Since this park was very close to the training grounds for the Shinobi not many civilians used it and the few Shinobi that came here mostly focused on themselves when they were in the park. Naruto liked to come here and just sit in the grass and listen to the leaves rustling in the wind.

While Naruto didn't have any problem with the other people in the village he really enjoyed these quiet moments it made him just forget the world around him not having to concern himself with anything.

After a minute of just sitting there Naruto took out one of the books that the Hokage had given him. The title of the book read 'What it means to be a Shinobi'. After opening the book Naruto started slowly reading the book. While he was unfamiliar with a few of the words he could understand most of it since the book was written with the intention of explaining the basics of Shinobi life to children. It had been one of the books that the Sandaime had read when he was taught to be a Shinobi.

Naruto was so engrossed in his reading that he didn't even notice the sun starting to set. When he finally looked up from his book he noticed that it was already very late. If he didn't get back to the orphanage soon the matron would be displeased with him and he didn't want to have that happen.

After storing the book back in his bag Naruto started heading for the orphanage. While passing close to one of the training grounds Naruto could hear the sound of a person panting loudly. Moving closer to the sound Naruto tried to get a good look at the source of the sound by standing behind the tree in a position that allowed him to see the person but still be well hidden.

Standing in the training ground was a boy not much older then Naruto himself. He couldn't be older then 5 and had long dark-brown hair that was bound in a low ponytail. He was wearing brown training clothes and blue sandals that Naruto had seen some of the Shinobi wear. The boy was repeatedly flowing through the same movements. It seemed to Naruto that he was training to fight in hand-to-hand combat. After watching for a bit longer Naruto saw the boy stop his movements and drink a bit of water from a canteen that was standing not too far from him. While the boy was turning Naruto was able to catch a glimpse of his eyes. They were a pale white.

When he had first seen people with pale white eyes in the village he had thought that the person was blind but he had seen these people to often for them to all be blind. Naruto did notice that all looked kind of similar to each other though. When he had asked the Hokage about this the Sandaime had chuckled heartily before explaining to him that it wasn't a special kind of eye colour but the Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuuga Clan, the Byakugan. While he hadn't understood everything the Hokage had told him about it some of the things he had understood sounded really cool.

When Naruto stopped his train of thought he noticed that the boy was gone from the training field. So Naruto made his way to the orphanage as fast as possible.

* * *

It had been 3 weeks since Naruto had gotten the books from the he now read all of them. The scroll that the Hokage had given him was a actually a detailed explanation to meditation.

After he had read all of the books (some with the help of the Hokage), Naruto had wanted to try out some of the things mentioned in the books like unlocking his chakra. When he had asked the Sandaime about it he had agreed as long as he was there when Naruto did it.

While Naruto didn't initially like that he had to wait longer to do it he understood that the Hokage was a busy man and didn't always have time for him. But it also meant that he was all the more happy about being able to unlock his chakra today. The Sandaime had told him that he would visit today and then they would go and unlock his chakra. And to say Naruto was exited was an understatement.

Before he could think anymore about all the things he could when he had unlocked his chakra Naruto's keen hearing picked up three rather loud knocks. That way of knocking while making it sound incredibly patient but also giving you the feeling that you better not take your time in answering the door. He had only heard it the times that the Sandaime came to visit.

So with that thought in mind Naruto placed all the books in his bag and rushed down the door with the bag strapped to his back. When he got to the entrance he saw the matron opening the door and greeting the Hokage.

After Naruto had arrived downstairs and greeted the Hokage himself the two of them were on their way to one of the more secluded training grounds in the village. When they arrived the Hokage told Naruto to sit down in the middle of the field in a meditative position.

When Naruto had sat down and the Sandaime had made one or two corrections to his form the Hokage began instructing him on how to unlock his chakra.

"Now Naruto-kun, I want you to turn your focus inwards and ignore the outside. If you search you should be able to find a certain feeling in your stomach area that seems to be a locked away. Move towards that and pull it to the surface. If you do not find it immediately do not worry. For most people it takes a bit to unlock their chakra." instructed the Hokage in a lecturing tone.

After listening to everything the Sandaime said Naruto closed his eyes and tried to focus on steadying his breathing and just focusing on the calming effect of nature. While steadying his breathing took a while since he was still very exited Naruto was eventually able to do it.

Now Naruto tried to turn his focus inward and search for the feeling that had been described in the book he read about chakra and by the Sandaime moments ago. It was a while later that Naruto thought that he had found what he was searching for.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there and meditating but if he had to guess he would say that it had been about 10 minutes now. Delving deeper Naruto was able to get a grasp on what he presumed to be his chakra. When he 'reached' it, the first thing that the feeling brought to mind for Naruto was the picture of a frozen lake surrounded by snow-covered trees. The feeling of chilly temperature accompanying the image didn't make Naruto feel uncomfortable, instead it had a calming and comforting feel to it.

Shortly after this Naruto let his own chakra envelop him to finally unlock it. At first it seemed like power was flooding his body and his veins felt like ice was running through them but it didn't cause him any pain. After the chakra had fully enveloped him a painful feeling started to appear all over his body. Before Naruto could stop the meditation and interrupt whatever was happening the pain ended and he fell unconscious.

* * *

When Naruto opened his eyes the first thing that he noticed was a white ceiling and a distinct smell of disinfectant assaulting his nose. After adjusting to the unnatural lighting in the room Naruto slowly sat up in his bed and looked around. He seemed to be the only one in the hospital room, so Naruto decided to wait for somebody to come and see him.

About 10 minutes of waiting later the door to Naruto's room opened and the Sandaime stepped into the room. After he closed the door behind him he walked towards Naruto's bedside and sat down in one of the chairs next to the bed.

"How are you my boy? And what happened while you were meditating?" asked the Sandaime.

"I'm feeling okay right now Sarutobi-ojisan, and I really don't know what happened. When I was searching for my chakra I thought I had found it and reached out for it. When I was 'touching' it I guess, I felt like I was on a frozen lake surrounded by snow-covered trees. It was cold but not uncomfortable it actually felt calming. Then it felt like ice was running through my veins but it wasn't painful. After that my whole body started to hurt before I passed out. What happened while I did that?" said Naruto before asking the question that he would really like to have answered.

He didn't think that this was in any way a normal process but something had to have caused the pain and maybe it had been visible from the outside.

"Well, at first nothing happened for about 10 minutes before I could see your chakra when you unlocked it. At first it was just a visible outline around your body later it looked like a vortex of chakra coalescing around your body. Shortly after that the vortex dispersed which was accompanied by a slight shockwave and your body was once again visible but you were already unconscious. Everything seemed fine but there were some changes…." answered the Hokage before trailing off at the end.

"What is it, what changed?" asked Naruto slightly worried that something bad had happened to him.

Instead of answering the Sandaime held up a mirror that had been lying on the bedside-table unbeknownst to Naruto. When Naruto looked into the mirror he was at first confused before he realised that it was him that was looking back at him.

"W-w-what happened to me?" asked Naruto while still looking in to the mirror. The reason for this was that Naruto's looks had undergone a slight change. Instead of his normally tan complexion his skin was noticeably paler but not to a high degree and that wasn't really Naruto's problem. However his normally sun-kissed blonde hair was now replaced by a snow-white shock of hair. It still had a certain spikiness to it but it didn't seem as noticeable with the change in colour accompanying it. His eyes had also changed a bit. His normally blue eyes reminiscent of the ocean were now one or two shades lighter and somehow reminded Naruto of the frozen lake that he had imagined when he had first reached for his chakra.

"It seems to me like the unlocking of your chakra caused these changes but I'm not sure why that is the case. All I can say is that they will be permanent because their seem to be fundamental changes to your body from you unlocking your chakra. That is all we know, I'm sorry Naruto-kun" said the Hokage before continuing in his thoughts 'Although the fact that his chakra froze some of the plants around him is rather interesting.'.

After telling Naruto that the next time they would meet they would look for some more books the Hokage left the hospital for his office.

* * *

It had been a whole year since Naruto had unlocked his chakra and much had changed for the young Senju. Ever since the Sandaime had introduced Naruto to the Shinobi library he had been going there as often as possible. While he wasn't able to access much of the library when it came to jutsu or other concrete styles or techniques he was still able to read up on the different Shinobi clans in Konoha and some of the basic information that was available about them. Another thing that was already available to him were the techniques taught at the academy.

The three jutsu mentioned in a book that he read about the current curriculum were E-ranked which meant that even civilians were allowed to look them up. Another thing that he had learned was how one trained to better control their chakra. The book about the academy talked about a leaf-sticking exercise used in the academy to let young children get their first grasp on chakra control.

One of the first books that the Sandaime had given him had been about chakra and everything related to it. That book had talked about different exercises like tree-walking and water-walking but it didn't explain what exactly one had to do to learn them. Since he hadn't been sure which of these books was right and which of the exercises he should try he had asked the Sandaime the next time that he visited.

When he had heard his question he had explained to Naruto that he should try the leaf-sticking exercise since it would show him how one controlled his chakra in the basic sense. After that he could try to change the exercise up to make it harder using his own imagination.

So that's what he did. While the leaf-sticking exercise had initially been hard because the dumb leafs just kept being blown away by his chakra he hadn't let that deter him. So after half a day of trying he had finally done it. When the leaf was finally sticking to his forehead Naruto had realised just how hungry he was so he didn't train anymore that day.

After that Naruto had changed the exercise by using more then one leaf and trying to stick them to other bodyparts. When he had gotten it down with 15 leafs he tried to levitate them with chakra alone. Learning all of that had taken him about 3 months. Since other chakra control exercises weren't available to Naruto as of that point he had started to learn the three jutsu taught at the academy …. or he had tried to. While Kawarimi and Henge were easily mastered by Naruto the Bunshin gave him some problems but he had done it at the end. Even so he was still restricted to making atleast 3 clones any lower then that and he couldn't do it. When he had finally given up on doing it and asked the Hokage for advise he had been told that the Bunshin took virtually no chakra. So since his chakra reserves were quite high (atleast low-Chunin level but he didn't know that) for his age and he didn't have the necessary control it wouldn't be possible for him to do it for now.

So Naruto left it at that and focused on other things then the dumb Bunshin. For example taijutsu. While he only had access to the academy style of taijutsu he was still able to train his strength endurance and speed separately, so that's what he did.

While training taijutsu one day he had also been made aware of his current watcher.

* * *

 _Flashback_

 _At the moment we can see Naruto in one of the secluded training grounds in the village practicing his taijutsu. He wasn't really sure if his movements were correct since he only had the scroll from the library to go off but he didn't let that stop him._

 _Right now Naruto was going through the forms once again to commit them to memory. When he finished his last form he was surprised to hear somebody behind him talk. Usually his sense of sound and smell were enough to detect anybody close to him._

" _You have to use that style differently." said an emotionless voice from behind him. When Naruto whirled around he saw a boy, judging by the body structure, with his face hidden behind a porcelain mask. Naruto immediately realised what kind of mask this was. It was the kind that Konoha ANBU used._

 _While Naruto had never seen one in person he had read about the ANBU forces in the library and had been immediately intrigued. They handled all those missions no normal team of Jonin's can accomplish safely. ANBU had to undergo special training before being allowed on higher-level missions. To be accepted into the force itself wasn't hard basically every Shinobi of Chunin rank or higher could join. If you finished the complete training programme though you were a real part of ANBU._

 _The person Naruto was looking at couldn't be much older then 10. When he looked at the person again Naruto realised that the ANBU agent had said something._

" _Huh, what do you mean?" asked Naruto. While he only learned this taijutsu style from the scroll he got he was fairly sure that he was doing this right. The problem was that taijutsu was normally taught from teacher to student because of this reason. You just can't see if your own stance is right._

" _What I mean is that the style you are using is an offensive style. You however are more defensive in your taijutsu movements. That means you either adjust to the style or search for a new one. The style taught at the academy is only supposed to be a foundation anyways." said the ANBU._

" _So I should be more aggressive in my motions when using this style?" asked Naruto after listening to what the ANBU had said._

" _Yes. If you shift your weight and then lean your torso differently it's easier to start of a fight with that style. It focuses on continuously attacking right from the start. For that you need to able to take the rains in a fight. An explosive opening can help with that." explained the ANBU agent before the stance that Naruto had used before._

 _For the next hour Naruto listened as the agent show his stance and then showed him how to adjust it for that style. While doing so he explained why those changes were important for the effectiveness of the style._

 _After that the next hour was spent getting Naruto to memorise the right stances. When they finally finished with the last kata the ANBU agent once again spoke up._

" _You did well, Naruto-kun. You should rest for now and go eat something. I will see you some other time." After that the ANBU agent took a step away from Naruto and shunshin'ed away._

 _Flashback end_

* * *

Ever since then Naruto had met the same ANBU agent once a week during training. Sometimes he would correct Naruto or just answer some questions he had. Naruto wasn't sure why an ANBU was helping him but he wasn't complaining.

Right now Naruto was sitting in his room in the orphanage. Yesterday he had been told that he was supposed to meet the Hokage today and that it was important. So right now Naruto was getting ready to head to the Hokage tower.

When it was time Naruto left the orphanage after telling the matron not to worry. When Naruto had gotten to a less crowded place he focused some chakra to the soles of his feet before jumping up to the rooftops. Naruto had read about this in the library and had sometimes seen Shinobi do it so he had immediately set to learn it.

It only took Naruto two minutes to get to the tower this way since he didn't need to look out for civilians. When he got there he climbed the stairs and told the Hokages secretary that he was here now so she could inform the Hokage.

After five minutes of waiting the door to the office opened and a old man exited the office. His right eye was covered by bandages and he was using a cane. He seemed to constantly frown and gave off the feeling of a wise and experienced person.

When the man passed Naruto his eyes seemed to linger on him for a bit longer then anything else before he left. When Naruto looked back to the secretary he saw her motioning for him to enter the office now.

When Naruto entered the office he saw the Sandaime sitting behind his desk and reading something. After closing the door Naruto sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk. After a minute of reading the Hokage looked at Naruto and smiled his grandfatherly smile.

"Thank you for coming Naruto I have something that I need to tell you now that you are close to starting at the academy." started the Hokage.

When he heard this Naruto just nodded. He understood that some things were too difficult to understand at a young age and he didn't hold it against his grandfather figure that not everything about him was told to him immediately.

"What I need to tell you concerns your heritage and with it your Kekkei Genkai. Ever since you unlocked your chakra I was able to confirm that you possess the Kekkei Genkai of your clan. That clan is the Senju clan. With that you have access to the Senju compound in the village and to some degree the Senju fortune. That means that from now on you will live in the Senju compound. When you are old enough you will be able to get a seat on the council if my student Tsunade has not returned to the village until then. She is most likely your only living relative." ended the Hokage with a somewhat saddened tone.

After that the Sandaime explained some of the things that being the heir of a clan such as the Senju entailed for Naruto. When all had been explained the Hokage took Naruto to the Senju compound and explained that he would get a monthly allowance from the Hokage and that his status as a Senju would be revelead to the village soon.

When the Sandaime left the sun was already setting, so Naruto entered the main house of the compound once again. After walking in Naruto saw a scroll and a letter laying on a table that was located in a room at the front of the main house. It looked like it was supposed to be used to greet guests as far as Naruto could tell.

Taking the scroll and letter with him Naruto left the room. He guessed that the letter had some money in it so he could buy all the things he would need but he had no idea about the scroll.

When Naruto had found his way back to the master bedroom he took his clothes off and laid down in the bed with the scroll still in hand. Opening the scroll and reading the start of it Naruto realised that it was a scroll containing knowledge or more likely theories about the function of his Kekkei Genkai.

Naruto didn't sleep very long that night.

* * *

 **Thanks for everyone that has read this story. I have taken the time to spellcheck every chapter so that people won't be scared away by the bad spelling or grammar as much.**

 **I will try to update the story as soon as I can and I want to express my gratitude to everyone that followed, favorited or reviewed. It really does help me a lot. The rant that could be found here before can be started anew in private if their is any interest but it's not something that should be here since my opinion is made rather obvious by my style of writing as Naruto as a character anyway.**

Once again thank you all for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

**Naruto of the true Ice**

 _The basics of chakra II_

 _As mentioned in part I Chakra is composed of energies of both mind and body. By mixing those two together everyone can form chakra. Chakra on it's own is not discernible expect for what we know only as 'sensing'. By expelling waves of chakra in the right way one can get an awareness of his surroundings which includes chakra. By receiving different echo's the amount of chakra and it's density can be discerned. This way one can distinguish between a civilian or weak Shinobi, who have lower amounts of chakra, and a strong Shinobi that is just suppressing his chakra. A denser chakra means that the person has extensively used chakra in his life which is a clear indication towards them being a Shinobi. Then there is an occurrence known as natural sensors. These people are able to sense their surroundings without consciously expelling chakra. This way they can not be noticed as easily while sensing since the action of expelling chakra can easily be picked up on by other sensors._

 _How exactly natural sensors do this is not clear, however they still play a crucial role in the defence of a village or on missions in general._

 _Chakra can however be visible in certain situations. If a big amount of chakra is focused at a single point or in a defined space a blue glow can be made out. This glow can intensify depending on the amount of concentrated chakra. Sometimes chakra can be even smelled or tasted. People with enhanced senses, like the members of the Inuzuka clan for example can be able to notice chakra in the surrounding area. That is if enough chakra saturates the area. The praised jutsu of Kiri, **Kirigakure no Jutsu** can be easily distinguished from normal mist by observing through a enhanced sense._

 _As mentioned before chakra normally takes a blue colour when it can be seen. However there are some exceptions to this. First there are the different elemental chakra types. By giving the chakra a nature and not just using it in it's 'pure' form the chakra takes on a certain hue depending on the nature used. This however isn't seen often since most of the time elemental chakra is used through jutsu and not through normal channelling of chakra. When one channels their chakra through a weapon this change can sometimes be seen if the nature isn't completely mastered. If the nature is mastered the normal blue of the chakra is completely missing and only the colour of the nature used can be seen. Secondly there is a change in colour when chakra reaches a certain density. Denser chakra appears darker in colour but this isn't something happening often since most Shinobi never get far enough in their training before their death. A much better example of this phenomenon is the chakra of the Bijuu. Bijuu chakra is contrary to popular belief, not completely different from the chakra that we humans use. Instead the chakra a Bijuu is made off is just highly concentrated and dense chakra. Because of this it both changes colour to a orange/red and acts almost like acid to the everything it touches. Since human skin isn't accustomed to such high concentrations of chakra it normally just burns away. That is why wounds dealt by Bijuu, as few as there are, are very hard to treat. This is also the reason why the sealing of a Bijuu in to an adult overloads their body. Their fully matured body and chakra system are simply not able to adjust to the quantity and concentration of chakra placed in their system which leas to the hosts's death._

 _The last exception known to me as of now is what my brother has explained to me as Senjutsu chakra. By taking in natural energy from the surroundings one is able to blend this energy with their chakra to form Senjutsu chakra. To be able to do this one has to be able sense an then direct natural energy. For this one has to gain some kind of connection to the nature of the world. I believe my brother did so through his Mokuton though he was very secretive on the specifics. I could imagine that the different summoning animals also represent such a connection._

 _The Senjutsu chakra that is used to engage something called Sage Mode. In this state many of the bodies attributes are greatly improved just likely all jutsu used by the user. While I do not know the actual colour Senjustu chakra takes, my brother has mentioned that there is a difference._

 _Senju Tobirama_

* * *

It had been almost 10 months since Naruto had started living in the Senju compound and he loved it. After exploring the whole compound he had immediately found his favourite spots one of them being the clan library. The Senju clan being known as 'The clan of a thousand skills' had an enormous amount of knowledge stored away. From jutsu scrolls, to different taijutsu or kenjutsu styles to basic knowledge about basically everything. Many of these books were written by members of the Senju clan, especially the Nidaime Hokage, but others were written by people not part of the clan.

Naruto loved to just spend his time walking through the rows of shelves and picking out one of the books before getting lost in his own world for a time. But because he had already gained such extensive knowledge through reading in the Senju library and even before that in the books the Sandaime gave him he was ahead of everybody else in the academy. The things taught at the academy were never new for Naruto so he basically spend his time in the academy waiting for the practical lessons, as few and far between as they were.

Even then there wasn't much he could be taught. The few things that were taught in the first year when it came to practical lessons were already known to Naruto. The taijutsu style used at the academy wasn't really taught until the second year and the small amount of things they did do were nothing new since he had already learned all of the forms for the style. Most of the time Naruto just took some books from the Senju library with him and read them in the academy.

While the tutors didn't like that he wasn't paying much attention at the start that soon stopped when he aced every test they did. It got so far that the answers Naruto wrote down sometimes included knowledge that was not taught at the academy at all or was only taught in the later years.

When Naruto wasn't in the academy he spent most of his time either training or reading. One of the first things he had looked for in the library had been the Senju taijutsu style. While the academy style was a good basis it was a mainly aggressive style which didn't suit Naruto very well. The Senju style, much like the Interceptor Style of the Uchiha was a style that was used more defensively. So when Naruto had found the scroll he had immediately set to learn it.

Two things that hadn't changed were his meetings with the Sandaime and the help he got while training with the ANBU agent that was assigned to guard him. Even though he still didn't know who the ANBU agent was he didn't let that stop him. ANBU agents wore the masks for exactly that purpose anyway.

Naruto had also started on learning some jutsu. He already knew the three jutsu taught at academy and could use all of them. The only problem was that his bunshins always dispelled very fast. He had tried minimising the chakra he put in to the jutsu but he just couldn't get it that low, atleast with his level of chakra control.

So he had searched for other methods of increasing his control. The books about the basics of chakra included the more advanced forms of chakra control like tree-climbing and water-walking. While he had gotten tree-climbing after a few tries he was still working on water-walking.

But while looking through the library one day he had also found a scroll. The scroll was a jutsu scroll for the Kage Bunshin no jutsu, a technique developed by the Nidaime Hokage. The description of the technique stated that it cost much more chakra then the normal Bunshin, but because of this had to be used cautiously since it could kill the user if their chakra-levels were to low. When he had asked the ANBU agent the next time he met him if he could safely attempt using the technique he had gotten permission but with the added warning to not try to create more then one clone for now. Even so he had done it. The Kage Bunshin no jutsu,not needing much control if one had the necessary chakra to use it, wasn't as hard to learn as Naruto had thought.

Since the scroll that he had learned the Kage Bunshin no jutsu from was written by the Nidaime Hokage himself, all specifics of the technique were listed as well. This included the memory-transfer upon a clone dispelling. While Naruto had tried to use it for reading once it had been a pretty bad idea. He had made his clone read a book from the library while reading another one himself. When the clone had dispelled a head-splitting headache had ensued. The sensation of memories literally being stuffed into your brain was strange and very painful. Even though the pain had subside relatively fast after that it had still made Naruto cautious of using the technique in such a way, atleast for now.

Another thing that Naruto had noticed was that his Henge seemed different then the normal one. When Naruto used the jutsu the same way everybody else did he actually transformed. Why exactly this was the case he didn't know but it was still pretty cool. The ability to transform into different animals did have it's appeal and could be very useful on missions.

Right now Naruto was in the academy. They had just finished a lecture on history and all the students were currently outside warming up for the coming taijutsu spars. Well, not all of them were really warming up. Only the clan-heirs that made up a high amount of Naruto's class were actually taking the exercises somewhat seriously. Most of the civilian children didn't put much effort into it and others, mainly the girls didn't even try to hide the fact that they weren't warming up.

Well, that really wasn't Naruto's problem though. He had decided on one of the first days at the academy to focus mainly on his own education. He would gladly answer any questions others had but he wouldn't go out of his way to get all of the students ready. They either tried hard enough to be become ninja or they didn't.

After about 10 minutes the instructors walked towards the field that would be used for the sparring. It wasn't anything special actually, just a patch of dirt with a circle to mark the sparring zone. The first pairs were all made up of civilian children. Even though if they actually joined the Shinobi force the difference between clan or civilian children wouldn't really matter anymore it was a fact that those children from clans were generally better since they were trained from their clans at a young age already.

And so the fights went. Generally males were pitted against males and females against females. Naruto really hoped that this would change in the later years of the academy since females only fighting against females in the academy didn't help them when they were pitted against a male in a real fight. Most of the time the stronger build of a male made them fight differently then females and they should learn how to deal with both genders as enemies in the academy.

While there hadn't been many taijutsu classes especially with them sparring amongst each other it was still relatively clear to the students and instructor were everyone was at in the terms of taijutsu.

But it wasn't completely obvious who was actually the best. The ones that came to mind were Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Uchiha Sasuke and Senju Naruto. Since the girls were relatively even in taijutsu it wasn't as much of a contest.

Naruto had thought that Hyuuga Hinata would immediately win every taijutsu spar but the girl seemed to be unlike every other Hyuuga. She was incredibly shy and meek and hesitated before every strike. That meant that if she won at all the matches took incredibly long and the other times she was pitted against on of the better girls and simply lost.

When Naruto had noticed this he had been pretty disappointed. He could still remember the time when he had seen another Hyuuga maybe a year older then him training in taijutsu and he had seemed infinitely stronger when compared to Hinata.

So when all the other spars had been finished with the last one ending with Nara Shikamaru forfeiting as soon as he was allowed to, 'That guy is really way to lazy.', Shino and Kiba were called to spar next.

Inuzuka-san is pretty good since his clan is focused primarily on taijutsu. And then their style has a somewhat feral unpredictability to it which makes it a pain to deal with. But Aburame-san isn't half bad either. Though I always have the felling that he is consciously holding back all the time.' thought Naruto.

The fight while rather impressive for first year academy students wasn't really anything special in the grand scheme of things. Though Naruto had the feeling that Shino could have won if he had wanted to. It had seemed like he had slowed down at the end so Kiba would win. Maybe Shino just took the idea of deception to heart and didn't want to expose all of his abilities.

"And now, for the last fight. Uchiha Sasuke vs Senju Naruto." one of the instructors announced.

When Naruto heard the announcement he made his way to one side of the circle. Sasuke was already waiting on the other side since he had been standing closer to the area then Naruto who had been leaning against a tree and observing the spars.

When both of them had assumed their position in the circle one of the two instructors stepped between them and told them to make the seal of confrontation. It was basically a half-ram seal that everybody was supposed to do before starting a spar.

When they had both given the sign the instructor raised his arm before swinging it down with a cry of "Hajime!" and jumping out of the circle.

As soon as the signal to start the fight was given Naruto jumped back to create some distance so he would be able to assume the correct stance. He had watched Sasuke's spars so far and he went for a direct aggressive manoeuvre all of the time. While Naruto didn't know why he did it since the Interceptor style was supposed to be defensive he really couldn't care less. If his opponent wanted to use his style the wrong way who was he to deny them.

Just as predicted Sasuke immediately jumped forward while throwing a right hook. Since there was no resistance because he hit only air Sasuke overstepped slightly and left himself wide open.

Capitalising on this Naruto countered with a kick to the side which knocked Sasuke a good two feet to the side. If the kick had been chakra enhanced Sasuke would have flown away much farther but Naruto still wasn't that good enhancing his muscles with chakra.

Since this was only a spar Naruto didn't exploit Sasuke's vulnerable state and simply assumed his stance at point in the circle farthest away from Sasuke's position. Sasuke got up as fast as he could while looking clearly surprised. In his last spars nobody had taken the defensive from the get-go and because of this his very reckless forward dive had always worked.

As soon as Sasuke was on his feet Naruto was on guard. And it did him well since not a second later Sasuke was once again taking the initiative. This time he attacked with a spinning kick while mid-air. Seeing this Naruto ducked under the kick and waited for Sasuke to lose some height before executing a roundhouse kick to Sasuke's back, nearly throwing the Uchiha out of the circle had he not stopped himself by using his feet to stop his momentum in the last moment.

Once again Naruto didn't follow up on this and simply assumed his stance again while looking at Sasuke completely calm. Looking behind him Sasuke saw that his opponent had once again disregarded exploiting the situation and had instead once again assumed his stance, all the while looking completely calm and composed, like he wasn't the least bit concerned.

It was infuriating for Sasuke. He was an Uchiha, one of the Elite. Even though his enemy was a Senju that clan was basically extinct so they surely couldn't measure up to the Uchiha. 'How dare he mock me like that. It should not be like this.' though Sasuke while getting all the more angry that Naruto still had not made a move.

After Sasuke sat there for a while he seemed to have decided to continue the fight. Turning around and rushing at Naruto in full-sprint to surprise him. Seeing this Naruto lowered his centre so to better withstand the impact of what he was about to do.

Instead of again starting with a kick Sasuke decided to once again use a punch as an opening. Throwing a punch with his left as a diversion and starting the real punch with his right shortly after Sasuke was sure that he would still win. That thought got blown out of the window when Naruto didn't as assumed by Sasuke once again dodge but instead caught his left hand with both hands before pulling him towards himself and landing a knee into Sasuke's gut before throwing the Uchiha with a grunt of exertion out of the circle.

Unbeknownst to everyone but Naruto Sasuke's actual punch, executed with his right hand had hit and had almost thrown Naruto off had he not anticipated a heavy impact that hadn't happened from Sasuke's momentum but instead through his punch. When Naruto had read about this move he had thought that he would need to be more careful since he was actually stopping his opponents momentum with just his strength and stance but this time it had still assisted him since the force of the punch hadn't stopped Naruto from going through with the throw. 'I definitely have to work on spotting feints' thought Naruto while walking towards Sasuke.

The other students were greatly impressed and surprised, especially those that had already fought against Sasuke. Naruto had not been hit once and simply retaliated when there was no way for Sasuke to stop him.

The instructors were also very impressed. Though it had been rather clear to them that either of the two would take the first spot in class concerning taijutsu they hadn't thought that the difference in skill concerning taijutsu would be this great.

Sasuke juts now realising that he had lost looked up to see Naruto walking towards him. When he stopped in front oh him he simply held out his hand in the seal of reconciliation. Sasuke's already damaged pride after being defeat in such a way couldn't take it anymore.

Naruto hadn't expected this kind of reaction out of the Uchiha. He knew the Uchiha, just like the Hyuuga were a proud bunch but to let that rule you in such way didn't seem normal. A small growling sound was heard from Sasuke while he glared at Naruto. Then he simply slapped Naruto's hand away and left the field.

While Naruto really didn't care if the Uchiha liked him or not he didn't think that is was so bad to lose a simple spar like this. Sure it had been rather easy but what did that matter. It was the first year in the academy and they were still learning so it really shouldn't be that much of a deal, right?

* * *

When Sasuke had left the field the instructors announced that they would review the spars tomorrow and that they all could go now.

Naruto didn't immediately head towards the Senju compound since he wanted to read something in the normal library. Some of the more recent events weren't part of the Senju library since no one had really been expanding the library after most of the clan had died and the last remaining Senju had left.

When Sasuke left the academy he hadn't been able to get the picture out of his head. The Senju mocking him by instigating that they were somehow equals. He, a descendant of the main family of the Uchiha clan and some random Senju? Never. He would show him. He'd get what he deserved for humiliating an Uchiha like this.

Shortly after making up his mind on how to teach Naruto a lesson Sasuke arrived home were he was greeted by his father.

"What happened at the academy today?" came the indifferent voice of his father who didn't even look up from his work when Sasuke entered the room. Sasuke had to slightly grit his teeth before answering. His father never acknowledged him like he did Itachi. And his brother wouldn't help him train in nin- or taijutsu because he was too young.

"We had taijutsu spars today Tou-san." Fugaku merely grunted to signal that he had heard.

"Did anything of note happen?" was the next question said in the same kind of voice as the last one.

"I was beaten in a spar." Sasuke forced out. He had always strived to be acknowledged by his father. How could he do that if some academy student beat him so handily.

Instead of replying immediately Fugaku simply looked up and watched Sasuke for a moment, seemingly weighing his worth. After moments of tense silence he spoke up, "Who was it that beat you?"

"Senju Naruto, Tou-san." Sasuke bit out. Admitting to being defeated in front of his father almost physically pained Sasuke but he couldn't lie to him either.

Once again Fugaku didn't reply in words immediately. Releasing a sigh Fugaku looked back at his work before waving his hand to signal that Sasuke could leave.

When Sasuke was closing the shouji doors after exiting the room he could hear his father mumble something "Why couldn't you be more like Itachi?"

After closing his door with a look of pure anger plastered on his face Sasuke left the house to deal with this problem. The Senju wouldn't get away with this.

* * *

Naruto had been looking through he libraries records on the Kyuubi attack for a while now. Most were very vague and only spoke of the heroic sacrifice of the Yondaime Hokage, the so-called strongest Hokage.

Naruto didn't particularly care for those since most of them exaggerated to a high degree and didn't contain much useful information.

One thing mentioned in every record of the event was that the Kyuubi was supposedly killed by the Yondaime Hokage through some secret jutsu. That was what actually held Naruto's attention the most. The only records containing information about the Bijuu were either from the Shodaime or Nidaime Hokage themselves but only dealt with the capture of the creatures by the Shodaime and the ensuing distribution of the Bijuu between the villages. He couldn't be sure if there were more records since he had obviously not read through the whole Senju library but the few that he had found spoke of the Bijuu in a very vague manner.

As much information as he was still missing he had still come to the conclusion that killing a Bijuu should be impossible. They were literally chakra. You can't 'kill' chakra, only seal it. So there should actually be a jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi in the village but he had found no record of one. Maybe the Yondaime really had done it then? But that just couldn't be the case. Even the most advanced of jutsu were still bound to some fundamental rules concerning chakra.

So what had really happened?

While thinking about this Naruto realized that it was getting late and that he should be on his way home soon. Putting back all of the books he had studied Naruto left the library.

"So should we just rough him up a bit or maybe scare him using genjutsu?" asked one of the two Uchiha waiting for Naruto in one of the alleys not far from the library. It hadn't been hard for them to locate the Senju once it had been confirmed that he was not at the Senju compound.

"Let's just use genjutsu, if we hurt him physically it is way easier to trace back since he could identify us." answer his fellow Uchiha. The both of them were Chunin-level Uchiha and part of the Police Force. Since the Senju boy was only a first-year in the academy it would be easy for them to make an impression and leave without him being able to follow their movements or counteract them in any way even if he was a prodigy.

Moments later Naruto entered the alley that the two Uchiha were waiting in. The both of them were hiding and since Naruto wasn't on guard or suspecting anything he stood no chance to notice or evade the attack from behind.

Two arms appeared around him from behind and held his face to the front with enough strength that he couldn't move his head or look at the one attacking him. A second later a second figure appeared before him leaned down to eye-level and looked into his eye.

Naruto wasn't ready for the eyes of his attacker to suddenly turn red with two spinning tomoe in them. Before Naruto could even open his mouth to signal somebody that he needed help his vision turned black.

* * *

Itachi was once again on for the Senju heir. He actually rather liked the boy. He was the same age as his own little brother Sasuke and had a very inquisitive mind. Most of the time the boy was either found reading or training and Itachi had helped him out a few times in his training. He only corrected mistakes and didn't actually teach Naruto things that the boy wasn't already trying to do himself he only helped him accomplish those.

When the boy had started asking him questions, even though always ninja related ones, Itachi had been somewhat surprised. While the boy wasn't closed-off or shy in any way he was rather quiet by nature and most of the time he only thanked him for his help.

Over the months Itachi had become somewhat fond of the Senju boy though he would never admit that in front of Shisui, his friend would hold him to it for years if he knew. Training a young and untrained person in such a way was rather nice and Itachi felt rather proud when Naruto got the things he was trying to learn very fast through asking the right questions.

While Itachi could train his little brother just as well he just couldn't bring himself to expose his brother to the Shinobi world this early. It may sound hypocritical but knew that Naruto would need all the training he could get since he was basically the last Senju, excluding Tsunade of the Sannin, and didn't have a clan to look after him unlike Sasuke.

When he had seen Sasuke being so soundly beaten by Naruto today he hadn't been very surprised. While his brother's tactic of using an explosive opening to catch his opponent of guard wasn't fundamentally bad it would never work against an opponent that was either simply better then him or was already anticipating this.

This time both had been the case. Naruto had obviously observed Sasuke during the other spars in the academy and had made note of the reoccurring pattern that Sasuke followed. With that information and the fact that Sasuke wasn't faster then Naruto it had been rather easy to simply avoid he opening hit and retaliate accordingly.

It had really shown that Sasuke didn't truly understand the style he was using. The Interceptor style of the Uchiha clan was a defensive style that relied on the Sharingan's ability to predict movements to a high degree. Since Sasuke didn't have his Sharingan yet and used the style in a wrong way it had been rather obvious who would win from the start.

Itachi had also made note of his brother's anger after the spar. While Naruto hadn't seemed to care that Sasuke's pride had been greatly hurt it was still a matter that had to be addressed at some point.

When he had followed Naruto to the library after the academy Itachi had first not known what exactly Naruto was doing there. While the public library was certainly extensive it was in no way comparable to the treasure of knowledge that was housed in the Senju or even the Uchiha libraries.

That had meant that he was searching for something that could not be found in the Senju library. It had been become obvious rather fast that Naruto was researching the Kyuubi incident. Why exactly Itachi didn't know but he was sure that Naruto would ask him about it when he had any further questions.

Right now Itachi was waiting on a rooftop not far from the alley that Naruto had just entered. While he had seen tow members of the Police Force enter the alley not too long ago he wasn't worried or anything. It was their job to patrol the village and make sure that order was maintained and it was certainly not suspicious for them to be using a rather dark alley to get to one of the populated parts of Konoha during this hour. While they could simply roof-hop through the village there really wasn't any need to.

When Naruto had not exited the alley after three minutes though Itachi was beginning to become suspicious. Naruto shouldn't need longer then half a minute even if he was walking slowly. He may have been questioned by the two Uchiha but even then those interrogations were kept rather short and he shouldn't have taken more then two minutes even if he was stopped.

Jumping to the roof of one of the houses next to the alley Itachi saw Naruto being held by one of the two Uchiha while the other one was staring into his face. Naruto looked like he was out of it since he sagged in the arms of the Uchiha that was holding his body. Itachi's eyes narrowed the second before he leapt into the alley. Landing without a sound he snuck up on the Uchiha looking Naruto in the eyes and knocked him out with a quick chop to the neck from behind. Before his companion had fully realised that something was amiss Itachi was already behind him and had knocked him out, before Naruto could fall to the ground Itachi had caught him and checked what exactly the problem was. He suspected that one of the two Uchiha, the one in front of Naruto had been using his Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on Naruto and that idea was proven correct when he used a basic diagnostic jutsu on Naruto, every ANBU operative was required to learn the basics of Iryojutsu, and detected the foreign chakra in his system.

Laying one of his hands on Naruto's should while he formed a half-ram seal wit his other hand Itachi closed his eyes for a second to focus his chakra before dispelling the genjutsu laying on Naruto with a quick shout of "Kai!".

The difference, while not outwardly visible, was apparent to Itachi after doing another check on Naruto. The genjutsu was lifted but Naruto was still out of it and in a dream-like state. It seemed that whatever had been shown to him through that genjutsu had shutdown his body soon after it was placed. That didn't mean that Naruto had only seen a glimpse of the genjutsu though. The brain, which was the part of the body targeted by genjutsu, worked much faster then the rest of the body. That meant the the more proficient the caster and the stronger the genjutsu, the longer the target was trapped in the illusion. While the Uchiha that had casted the jutsu didn't even have a fully developed Sharingan that didn't mean that his genjutsu were necessarily weak. They could be broken much easier though, but Naruto having no experience in braking genjutsu couldn't do it himself that easily.

After depositing Naruto in his room in the Senju compound via a Crow Shunshin Itachi once again appeared in the alley to deal with his two clansmen.

* * *

Immediately after opening his eyes Naruto shot up from his laying position. Looking everywhere around him with panic visible in his eyes Naruto only slightly relaxed when he realised that he was in his room in the Senju compound. Calming his erratic heartbeat slightly Naruto lay down again to try and remember what had happened.

Shortly after entering the alley two arms had held him from behind before those eyes had appeared before him. Those damn red eyes with the black tomoe. He knew what they were obviously. The Sharingan of the Uchiha clan he had read all about it in the Senju library. Why had they done it though. Weren't they of the same village they should be allies right?

Before Naruto's thoughts could go down a dark path an ANBU agent appeared next to him in a murder of crows. When he got a better look at the ANBU he realised that it was the same ANBU that been helping him train for many months now.

"I see you are up Naruto." came the somewhat monotone voice. Hearing this, Naruto realised that it had probably been Karasu (Crow) who had brought him here.

"Yes, Karasu. But what happened there?" answered Naruto. While it was obvious to Naruto now that a genjutsu had been casted on him he didn't know why. Why was he attacked by a Konoha ninja no less. He knew that the Uchiha and Senju had never been friends exactly but had that really been the reason? Simply his affiliation with a certain clan?

"You were ambushed by two members of the Uchiha clan. When I noticed it I knocked both of them out and released the genjutsu. I then brought you here and dealt with them." answered Itachi in the same monotone voice as before. He had been somewhat ashamed to find out that two of his clansmen had attacked Naruto and then there was the fact that his brother had been the one to coax them into doing so. While he wouldn't tell the last part to Naruto it was still saddening to know that Sasuke would so easily seek revenge only because he lost a spar, in the academy no less.

"Why?! What did I do? Is it really just because I'm a Senju? Is that all the reason they need to attack a fellow citizen of Konoha?" asked Naruto with bits of hate seeping in his voice. The slight growl from the back of his throat didn't help to make Naruto sound more peaceful.

Itachi could understand Naruto's anger, to simply attack because of the others affiliation to a certain clan was petty if nothing else and didn't help in the grand scheme of things. In war what did it matter what clan you belonged to? Even in peace, were the bonds that formed Konoha really so shallow that they could be overlooked only because one party lost a spar? If that was enough reason to attack a citizen of your own village then what did it need to make you attack a person not from Konoha?

But Itachi also knew that he couldn't let Naruto go down that path of hate. He had to stop him from just hating the Uchiha as a whole because two members were easily swayed. If you could only see the bigger picture and ignored every single individual your actions could be easily manipulated. With people like Danzo in the village Itachi couldn't let that happen.

"Naruto, I know you are angry at the Uchiha clan but I want you to understand that not the whole clan is at fault here. You can't take those two as a representation of the whole clan if you think that way you only narrow your mind." said Itachi in a lecturing but still monotone tone.

When he saw Naruto looking not completely convinced Itachi made a decision. Taking of his mask Itachi closed his eyes before opening them to show his fully matured Sharingan.

"I'm Uchiha Itachi, I hope you can forgive my clansmen for their foolish actions."

* * *

 **Updated this Chapter's spelling aswell. I hope it's easier to read now.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Naruto of the true Ice**

 _The Essentials for Shinobi – Deception and Information_

 _One of the things that every Shinobi has to be aware of is that information is probably the most important advantage one can have. Because of this deceiving the enemy is very important to be successful as a Shinobi. If an enemy Shinobi cannot make accurate assumptions of the strengths and weaknesses of a single Shinobi or a whole village they will be more likely to reconsider attacking or they may underestimate the enemy._

 _If no reliable information can be gathered attacks can not be sufficiently planned which lowers the chance of success. Most leaders will shy away from attacking a village who's strengths and weaknesses they do not know for certain._

 _Because of this Shinobi should give away the lowest amount of information that they can at first glance. If it can be immediately determined that your enemy is a genjutsu specialist you will look for close combat through taijutsu or the usage of weapons. If the enemy is clearly a specialist in taijutsu you will know to keep your distance and weaken them with ranged attacks._

 _Appear weak were you are strong, slow were you are fast and uninformed were you have the most knowledge. Talking between enemies should not happen if not necessary. An intelligent Shinobi can ask seemingly harmless questions to gain crucial information. This essential concept of the Shinobi lifestyle should be applied as often as possible._

 _In the perfect scenario the Shinobi has perfect information on everything for the mission he is assigned. It's best to get as close as possible to this state. The less information is provided or can be gathered the lower are the chances of survival for the Shinobi and for the success of the mission. In this perfect scenarion needless bloodshet can be avoided and the Shinobi can simply do his mission. Since this is basically never the case a Shinobi has to be able to deal with new information and with the possibilty that information is false. There is nothing more deadly for a Shinobi than false information._

 _Expressing emotion can be deadly while fighting. A riled up or angry Shinobi is more prone to making mistakes. When an enemy is able to find out which things make you angry or unfocused he is much more likely to win since he can use these things to his advantage. That is not to say that a Shinobi should not have emotions. When dealing with clients, especially civilians it is important to appear like any other person would. It is bad for business if the client is already unnerved by the stare or expressionless face of the Shinobi that he is employing or asking to take his mission. That is the reason that emotions should be hidden while fighting or when among other Shinobi but have to be visible when among civilians or clients so as to not scare them off making business harder._

 _T_ _his is certainly one of, if not the hardest challenge for every Shinobi. While it is not necessary to be able to hide ones emotions in battle to be a good Shinobi it is certainly helpful to deny the enemy information._

 _In the end every Shinobi should try to give away as little as possible while learning as much about the enemy as possible. Shinobi use everything they can to win, they are not Samurai that have to comply with a honor-code._

* * *

"Are you sure about this Naruto?" was the question stated by the Sandaime when he had finished listening to the boy explain what he wanted. He knew that Naruto was far ahead of his classmates in the academy and there shouldn't be any problems with him graduating early but he still didn't like it as a surrogate grandfather. While those that graduated early did basically always go on to become exceptional Shinobi like Hatake Kakashi or even the boys ANBU guard Uchiha Itachi they were always rather awkward socially. While not noticeable with Itachi since he was currently in ANBU and still had a big clan to interact with Kakashi had been a different story. His environment was much more comparable to Naruto's. With no living parents or other relatives in the village the boy had his only social interaction when he was with his team and even then it had been as low as possible. And then he had even joined ANBU. It was rather likely that Naruto would end up in a similar situation if he should graduate now and from the perspective of a Kage that would be bad aswell. As the Senju heir the boy would need to be presentable to the public and a socially awkward clan-head or heir wouldn't help business at all.

Keeping him in the academy wasn't really a good option either. If Naruto would stay in the academy his growth would unrefutably be stunted. It was simply not a good idea to not let the boy embrace his potential. As the Senju heir and one of the last two of the clan he was expected to be strong. From a military perspective Naruto also needed to be ready since he was the jinchuuriki of Konoha. While no one expect for himself knew who exactly the Kyuubi was sealed in it was a fact that they needed Naruto as a jinchuuriki. As much as Sarutobi wished it to be different the boy would be a weapon of mass-destruction when he was old enough. Even if he never would have to be used as a weapon in his lifetime he was at the very least a deterrent. The other Hidden Villages would think twice about attacking Konoha when it was obvious that they held the container of the Kyuubi even if it wasn't known who that container was.

So should he grant the boys request with all it's risks or condemn to boy to suffer through more years in the academy meanwhile stunting his growth as a ninja of Konoha just so he would have bonds in the village and was stable emotionally?

While the Sandaime was thinking this over the one over occupant of the room beside Naruto included himself into the conversation by stepping next to the Hokage and whispering in his ear.

"Hokage-sama if I may voice my suggestion, why not let Naruto-san train outside of the academy for the next years and then let him graduate together with his age group so that his time as part of a team will be guaranteed in the desired way?"

Hearing this suggestion Sarutobi decided what to do. While not entirely in line with common practice it was certainly not outrageous enough an idea for it to garner any attention in the public. While Konoha was a military dictatorship lead by him he couldn't just openly do what he wanted either. The village was largely dependend on the funding it received from the Fire Daimyo and the businesses that were owned by civlians in the village. Without those factors Konoha wouldn't survive very long economically. So things that were visible to the public had to be conform with certain norms to go through without a hitch.

"Very well. Following Karasu's suggestion I will grant your request of leaving the academy. However you will not be able to actually graduate until your current class graduates. That means that you may train until then however you want. Since you won't be supplied with a tutor you are free to search for a teacher yourself. You will also be able to visit the section of the public library open to genin since your graduating is technically only delayed though I'm sure that most of the things that you will need for training can be found in the Senju compound." after having said his piece the Sandaime sent the two out before resuming his work.

* * *

Naruto hadn't anticipated this outcome when he had chosen to learn the academy taijutsu style. While it was certainly a good base to branch out to a more fitting style and was especially good for the civlians in the academy since they didn't have access to any family or clan styles like the children that came from a Shinobi background right now it was only giving him problems.

At the moment he was trying to learn those katas of the Senju clans taijustsu style that he hadn't learned yet. And that was were his problem originated. Some of the katas obviously had somewhat similar movements to the academy style, that meant that his body was reflexively moving in a way he didn't want it to which is why he was focusing on 'forgetting' those reflexes so that he would be able to use the Senju style to it's full strength once he mastered it.

This was a relatively slow process though since he couldn't just force his body to forget those memorized movements, it came with time.

Deciding to take a break since he had been training for a good two hours now Naruto showered and changed his clothes in to something more casual then his training clothes.

Having changed Naruto decided to simply walk through the village and let his mind wander a bit. It was kind of relaxing to simply walk without a real goal in mind.

Naruto was able to focus on the beauty that was Konoha while walking through the streets. In fire country the weather was always rather warm so it was rather comfortable all year round.

After a bit of walking Naruto stopped and focused on his surroundings. He had heard something that sounded somewhat familiar. Looking around Naruto found himself in a park close to one of the training grounds.

Curiosity getting the better of him Naruto decided to investigate the noise. Walking in to the training ground Naruto saw that the only occupant was a boy that seemed to be about his age maybe a little older. The boy was obviously training in taijustsu since he was repeatedly going through the same motions. While he wasn't exactly sure what style the person was using it was somewhat familiar to him. After taking some more steps in the boys direction Naruto grabbed the boys attention by clearing his throat loudly to signal his presence.

After going through the same motions two more times, each time slower then before the boy took a drink from a can. After gulping down a good amount the boy ceased his drinking and turned in Naruto's direction.

The first thing that became apparent was the boys heritage. The tell-tale white pupil of the Hyuuga's Byakugan looked back at him when he looked at the boy. Seeing that the boy was also subtly trying to study him Naruto decided to start a conversation.

"Excuse me for interrupting your training Hyuuga-san I simply heard the sounds of your training and came to see what was going on. I didn't expect to meet someone my age training out here."

"It is no problem Senju-san. Concerning the matter of me training here, I simply wished to practice my taijutsu in the quiet atmosphere of one of the more unused training grounds. It helps me focus on the task at hand since it isn't as crowded as the grounds in the Hyuuga compound." asnwered the boy in a polite but not overly friendly tone.

Whilst listening to the boy Naruto took a more careful look at the boys appearance. The long brown hair tied into a low ponytail seemed familiar though Naruto couldn't really place the memory. Then there was the matter of his forehead, though it could just be a coincidental head injury it was much more likely that the bandages were used to cover the Cage Bird Seal that was most likely present on his forehead. While he had never seen the seal on a person he had read about it in scrolls and books about the Hyuuga clan. While he had no problem with the idea of having two houses, one main and one branch, the idea of branding the branch house with marks that could be used to inflict pain in large quantities was rather sickening.

"If that is the case would it inconvenience you if I trained here aswell? I won't disturb you if you are worried about that and I simply want to have the chance to spar should the need arise and the same chance would present itself to you aswell." asked Naruto in a tone that had the slightest hints of hope in it. It wasn't that he craved to have friends but he wanted to interact with someone his age that was dedicated to his lifestyle as a Shinobi and took that profession seriously.

Basically the only one in his academy class that had fit that category was Sasuke and that boy had a ego-problem so big it was visible a mile away. Really the rest of the class, even the clan heirs which had made up a good amount of the class, had dreamed of a life filled with glory when they became Shinobi and the teachers didn't seem inclined to correct them. It really was sad, most of them would understand the reality behind their profession on their first real mission or when they were forced to kill the first time.

Initially Neji had thought that the Senju heir would simply leave after he had heard his answer but he hadn't anticipated the boy to express the wish to train with him. There really was no reason to decline, he didn't have anything against the Senju personally and he had made a good point. Taijustsu was best practiced as a pair. The other could spot mistakes from a outsider's perspective and sparing was a good method to make the stiff movements that were the result of learning katas into something more suited for actual battle.

So it really was a offer that had no apparent downsides for Neji but still he hesitated. Should he really put his hope in to this boy a year younger then him. What if the Senju heir ended up a failure and just dragged him down? Was it worth taking the chance?

It really shouldn't be such a hard decision to make. If he couldn't take any risks he wouldn't be able to accomplish anything as a Shinobi. So with a made up mind Neji made his decision.

"You may, there is a good chance that sparring or training with you could improve my own skills so I will take that chance Senju-san. However I will have to leave for today. After all I have a curfew to meet." the last part was said with the smallest amounts of bitterness creeping in to his tone before Neji could supress them.

While Naruto picked up on it he didn't comment. It wasn't his place to intrude on somebody's personal business especially when he had literally just met the person. He had a theory anyway.

The boys status as a branch member of the Hyuuga clan meant that he had more regulations and rules placed on him then a member of the main house at such a young age. There also may be the chance that he had to receive some kind of education in the clan how a branch member is to better serve the main house but that was just Naruto's imagination going wild.

After a quick goodbye Neji left the training ground to return to the Hyuuga clan compound.

'Hmm, since I'm already here might aswell get some training in huh?' was the last thought before Naruto started some lighter exercises in the vacated training ground.

* * *

"Come on Naruto you can do better then that!" taunted Neji from opposite his opponent. Right now the two boys were involved in a strictly taijutsu spar. While Neji and Naruto both knew that this handicapped Naruto more then it did Neji they had both agreed to go through with this. This way they would both improve that much faster.

The taunting had an entirely different reason. The two of them had not only trained together since that day two months ago they had also shared thoughts and ideas. One of those was the idea that a Shinobi had to remain calm in battle to not lose his advantage or get even further disadvantaged.

Because of this they had decided to taunt each other while sparring. This not only trained them to ignore such outbursts it always gave them a better ability to focus on more then a single thing. Talking while fighting meant that they had to focus on correctly executing their taijutsu style, otherwise they would get defeated very fast, and also maintaining a reasonable discussion. Sometimes that meant actually discussing theories or knowledge while fighting other times it meant simple taunting like in this instance.

Getting up from the ground Naruto dusted of his slightly dirtied training clothes while thinking of a way to beat Neji. His friend was better at pure taijutsu. The Hyuuga clan and their Juuken were feared for a reason and Neji was very proficient at the style, normally he would probably be hailed as the genius of the Hyuuga clan but he had started to hide some of his capabilities after Naruto had advised to do so and his status as a Branch house member certainly didn't help in getting prestige in the clan.

So how to beat him? Since he was restricted to using only taijutsu himself he couldn't simply use jutsu. While cheating was part of being a Shinobi in this case it wouldn't help him since he wanted to improve and be proficient even if he was not able to use jutsu.

Well strategy would also be rather hard since Neji could see all of his surroundings so what to do?

Deciding on a plan of action Naruto got in to his stance.

For a few seconds Neji and Naruto simply watched each other waiting for one to make the first move. Waiting for anything that could give them an advantage.

After ten seconds of waiting Naruto took the initiative. With a burst of chakra-enhanced speed he shot towards Neji at a velocity that to a civilians would be simply a blur. To a Shinobi though it was basically the usual speed used in battle. Since the chakra being present in the body enhanced the msucles Shinobi could gain more speed, strength and endurance then a civilian that had no access to their chakra could ever hope to.

When Neji saw Naruto dashing towards him he subtly lowered his center of gravity and widened his stance slightly so as to prepare for Naruto's attack. While he was stronger that didn't mean that he could be careless against Naruto.

When Naruto was close to colliding with Neji he initiated with a open palm strike towards the gut that was immediately swept aside by Neji keeping his slightly slowed momentum Naruto moved with the flow and moved slightly behind Neji to spin around and hit him with a kick to the side.

Neji blocking the kick was somewhat surprised by the strength behind the attack and was pushed away from Naruto a bit. Stopping his backwards movement Neji hit side with an open palm.

Naruto loosing his balance had to jump into the air slightly before landing a bit further away. Since he had spend some time in the air though Neji was able to move towards his position.

When Naruto landed he used a quick backwards somersault to gain some distance from Neji. When Neji was about to continue his assault the both of them noticed that another person had entered the training ground.

Immediatly getting completely serious the two assumed stances that gave them the ability to jump in to action as fast as possible while looking for the person that had entered the training ground.

While it could just be a Konoha Shinobi the person had hidden their presence very well. Even Neji had only noticed them with his Byakugan this late since he wasn't at a point were he could keep his focus on his adversary while still mantaining long-range observation of his surroundings.

Naruto had only noticed the third presence through a mix of his senses of smell and sound. While he hadn't been able to find a reason for his weirdly enhanced senses anywhere he would use them as much as he could. The intruder had either been careless enough to make a sound while intruding or he wanted to be noticed.

After waiting for a bit a figure appeared from the treeline. When they spotted the figure both let their aggressive stances fall, Neji doing so earlier then Naruto since he had been able to make out the figure even before it left the cover of the trees.

A pocelain mask painted with the depiction of a crow sat on the face of the ANBU member entering the grounds. Seeing this Naruto greeted his friend/mentor in a non-personalized way. While Neji and he had been friends for a bit now he couldn't simply disclose ANBU agents identities at his will. The fact that he knew who the person behind that particular mask was was an exception on it's own.

"Can we help you ANBU-san?"

"Senju-san, Hokage-sama has asked that you appear before him." said the Itachi in the monotone voice that was demanded of a member of ANBU while on the job.

Hearing this Naruto nodded once to relay his understanding before he took his leave to make himself presentable.

When Neji heard this he wasn't very surprised. Naruto was the heir to the Senju clan and it's only living member currently residing in the village to boot, it wasn't unheard of that the Hokage would have business to discuss with him sometimes.

Seeing that the ANBU operative had left when he had succesfully relayed his message Neji decided to train for a bit before heading home.

* * *

"Why is it that you dislike Hinata-san to this degree though. I mean from what I've seen she seems unfit to be a Shinobi since she is too nice but that is really not your reason is it Neji?" asked Naruto with an inquisitive tone. This had been something that he had been meaning to ask for a while now. Everytime that Neji talked about the main family and especially his cousin Hinata he seemed to get extremely angry. While he could understand that the branch house was 'displeased' with their position in the clan this was a tradition that had been in place for a long time before Neji was born so it really was no use to get angry over it.

It really had to be something between Neji and the main house especially. Otherwise it didn't make much sense. While he didn't particularly like Hinata or the other members of the main clan, he hadn't interacted with any of them beside Hinata but he didn't like the concept of the Caged Bird Seal which was applied and used by members of the main house, it seemed to be something that was holding Neji back.

"I'll tell you a story and maybe afterwards you will understand." began Neji. He had picked up on Naruto's interest on the subject over the last months. While Naruto respected privacy and greatly valued his right of it, he would carefully intrude on personal business if he couldn't understand though Neji thought that he would back off if told that is was personal.

But maybe it was a good idea to tell him. At the very least he would get it off his chest and maybe Naruto would have some advise, his friend had the tendency to have helpful comments.

"A bit more then four years ago…."

…..

"May I ask a few questions?" asked Naruto after listening to his friend explain the origin of his hate.

"Why is it that you specifically blame Hinata-san. I get that the incedent happened during the celebration of her birthday but the dat that she was born really isn't her fault, so why is your anger focused on her so much? Secondly do you blame Hiashi-sama for being the head of the clan and the main family? What is it that you want them to do? What you feel isn't completely baseless hate, but do you have a chance for them in mind to redeem themselves in your eyes?" were the questions put forth by Naruto. After listening to Neji he could see why his friend was feeling the way he felt but Naruto believed that he could maybe help Neji to see some of the inconsitencies that led to those feelings.

Confronted with these questions Neji really couldn't come up with reasonable replies. All those that he wanted to use were immediately discarded when Neji noticed that were either baseless accusations or were simply untrue. It seemed like large parts of the hate and anger that he harbored for the main family were much more groundless that he would like to admit. Just when he was about to open his mouth to reply Naruto interrupted him.

"I want you to think about those questions Neji. I'm not telling you to stop hating the main house or to suddenly like Hinata-san or her father but try to dislike for the right reasons at the very least." after saying this Naruto bid him farewell before leaving the training ground the two were once again occupying.

* * *

"So have an affinity for three different chakra natures but my Doton affinity is weaker then the other two?" asked Naruto while focusing on the battered piece of chakra paper that had formerly been between his fingers. The paper was cut into four parts while three were soggy and looked like they would fall apart. The last part had crumbled to dust.

While the implications of this were obvious Naruto wasn't sure what exactly this meant for him.

"Yes while having three nature affinities is incredibly rare it also means that you will have to invest that much more time in to each of the elements. Normally a person has one affinity that they then learn to control. However people with more then one affinity need to be able to first distinguish between the different natures before they can learn any of the control exercises necessary to master your element. That means that when you are learning to control your Fūton affinity you will have to focus on suppressing or sorting out the others." explained Itachi. Currently the two of them were training in the Senju compound. While strictly speaking Itachi was Naruto's guard and not his teacher he had grown awfully fond of the Senju heir as curious as that was for an Uchiha of the stories if the clans legendary rivalry weren't exaggerated.

It had been suprising since Itachi normally clearly pulled a line between work and his private life but when he was watching over Naruto that line seemed to be blurrier each day. The boy was one of the few that had the right idea about what it truly meant to be a Shinobi.

Because of this Itachi was instructing Naruto a few times a month on different subjects concerning the Shinobi life. Stealth, ninjutsu, chakra control or even genjutsu theory were exempt. While Itachi didn't teach the boy any jutsu he explained the principles behind many things and helped Naruto refine the things that he had already learned.

Maybe it was just the fact that Itachi saw a bit of himself in Naruto. The boy was mature beyond his age and grasped the basics of everything related to Shinobi very fast. He hated the term genius though. People often used it for people like him or Naruto so as to jutsify being weaker. That wasn't how it worked though. While lineage certainly played a part determination and the interest to learn were probably juts as important.

All this didn't change the fact that people like him, Kakashi Hatake and Naruto were exceptional. People were lineage, thirst for knowledge and determination came together to form a brand of Shinobi that was on another level then most. That is not to say that work was unnecessary, it was just had to applied in a different way.

On a battlefield this didn't really matter though. The greatest of Shinobi would still die from a simple Kunai to the heart or from a broken neck. In the end they were still human.

Sometimes Itachi thought that humanity was the only thing standing in the way of peace. He believed that it was in the very nature of humans to be angry, to hate, to be jealous and to generally invoke violence. The very concept of Shinobi was that they were weapons meant to kill, destroy and rip apart. Shinobi were simply the messengers of misery.

But when he thought about this he also remembered all the good that people did every day. The use of chakra to heal was most likely the single use for a Shinobi that held worth in times of peace.

It was all so very difficult…..

What was he supposed strive for? Was it the fate of humans to only stive for desires that were ultimately completely selfish?

Itachi didn't really know but he would try his very best nonetheless. He would prevent war in every way that was possible. He had seen the horrors that appeared during actual war and he didn't wish that upon anyone.

* * *

"I will be leaving the village today Naruto and I will not come back. Just promise me that you will look after my brother Sasuke for me." said Itachi who had just appeared in the Senju compound. He was still dressed in his ANBU garb that was covered in blood from what he had just done.

In front of him Naruto had immediately realized that the situation was serious and stopped himself from asking questions. Instead he simply answered.

"I promise to look after your brother in your stead Itachi, leave it to me." and Naruto meant it. Itachi was one of the few people that he treasured and he would do what Itachi asked of him. Naruto didn't know how it felt to have family but he hoped that having an elder brother felt the same way that it did when he was with Itachi. Even though they talked about Shinobi-related topics most of the time that wasn't important to Naruto. Important was that Itachi took his time and taught him, whatever that may be.

In some way Naruto felt indebted to Itachi and he would repay that debt to Itachi even though he didn't like his little brother he would look out for him as best as he could.

"Thank you, Naruto you truly were like a little brother to me." after saying this Itachi vanished from the Senju premises leaving Naruto there who had said one more thing that Itachi did not hear.

"No, I thank you Itachi-niisan." while saying those words in to the night a single tear dropped from Naruto's eye.

* * *

"Fūton: Daitoppa!" was the shout from Naruto before a moderatly strong gust of wind was released from his mouth. The C-Rank Jutsu that Naruto was learning right now was one of the more basic Fuuton jutsu and Naruto had tried to get better aquainted with the feel of Fuuton before he would try to actively master the element.

One problem was that right now the jutsu didn't really have any use in actual combat for Naruto. The gust of wind wasn't strong enough to actually damage anybody so it could at most be used to push something away. Maybe he could use it for accelarating Kunai or projectiles in general but for that Fūton: Reppūshō was a much better alternative since it didn't waste chakra trying to directly harm the enemy like Daitoppa was meant to do.

He would just have to train more it seemed. He had just started learning the jutsu after all. He wanted to be able use less hand-seals for the jutsu when he would finally use it. He had read that his ancestor the Nidaime Hokage was able to use a jutsu that normally needed 44 seals with a single one. That was something that Naruto admired.

Weaving 44 different hand-seals in actual mortal combat was rather hard and depended greatly on your ability to distract the enemy or required for a teammate to be a distraction. Then there was the fact that simply blowing out a crushing gust of wind with a single hand-seal would certainly suprise enemies which may give him the edge in a fight.

But until he would be able to do it that way many hours would be spend training.

He had to do it though. He had to get strong not only to keep his promise to Itachi but also to become a Senju that his ancestors could be proud of. As someone who never knew his parents it was incredibly important to him to become somebody that he believed his family could have been proud of, as proud as you could be of a Shinobi somebody who killed, lied and stealed for a living at least.

* * *

 **And that's it for this chapter. Took longer then I would have like but I finally got it done. This will probably be the last chapter before the teams are formed. I skipped a lot of time in this chapter since I really only wanted to give you guys glimses of what was going on at the time. Sorry, if the relationships with Neji or Itachi seem a bit rushed but I really didn't know if I should write this out to a higher degree. Most of the time I feel like stories that spend to much on the time between Naruto joining the academy and the team placements get boring rather fast because it's simply not possible to have a strong character when he is like seven or eight and it seems rather hard to imagine how the character would behave at that age.**

I hope that next chapter will get a bit better since this one really only had the purpose of giving some explanation to the relations that will have a part later on in the story. Also on the topic of pairings, I'm rethinking my initial idea and may just switch it to only being one woman, probably an OC but I'm really not sure about this and I will do it in the way that fits the story the most when it is time.

Thank to everyone who has reviewed, fav'ed or followed it really helps a ton. Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Until next time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Naruto of the true Ice**

 _The Creation of Jutsu – Ninjutsu_

 _When talking about the creation of jutsu one has to distinguish between the creation of ninjutsu, genjustu and the creation of styles for taijutsu or the use of weapons. This volume will focus on the creation of ninjutsu_

 _Many decide to develop their own techniques when they have assimilated enough experiences with chakra to fit their own tastes better. For this they have to give the chakra shape and most of the time also element. The elemental manipulation is done by making your chakra imitate the actual element. Since it's only an imitation chakra-based natures will always be weaker then the actual phenomenon which is especially important for Raiton manipulation. Actual lightning is much faster and stronger then chakra-based lightning which is why masters of Raiton have tried to harness actual lightning for along time._

 _Giving the chakra a certain shape is done by forcing the chakra into that shape through chakra control. The better the control the faster the wanted shape can be formed and the easier it is to maintain._

 _Usually the job of giving shape and element to the chakra is done by the use of hand-seals. They move chakra in a certain way, however for this the actual sequence and the seals themselves are important. This makes the practice of using less then intended hand-seals to use a jutsu much harder then what may be assumed initially._

 _Nobody should attempt to shorten the sequence without knowledge of the meaning behind every seal and their relation to the other parts of the sequence. Similarly is the case with the use of the name. Calling out the name of the used technique is extremly counterproductive to stealth. However lowering the volume or simply voicing the name in ones head can accomplish the same effects with suffcient training._

 _It the end the only thing that is needed was an idea. That idea is then made a reality by using a lot of time and lot of chakra. At this point it still isn't important how much chakra the jutsu takes. The amount can be refined at a later point. When the jutsu has been accomplished through control alone one can set to giving the technique the necessary hand-seals. For this extensive knowledge in Fuinjutsu is required. While a master of Fuinjutsu is able to find the most effective sequence that isn't necessary if a person like that isn't available. This can be done through trial and error for lower amounts of seals since the basic meaning of the seals isn't a very complicated subject._

 _When the jutsu has the right amount of hand-seals the control isn't as much of a problem anymore since the seals do a lot of the work in that department. However if one uses this method of creating jutsu the process of mastering them and the users chakra control become much better in a short amount of time._

 _Visualizing the jutsu is generally a good idea that can help form the jutsu for the first time. Since the chakra has to be forced to move in the way the user wants it to it's better to have a clear depiction of what you want to create before starting. This way less chakra and time is wasted on unsuccessful attempts._

* * *

Walking into the academy Naruto remembered his one and only year that he had spend being taught in the facility. He did have some fond memories of this place but it really didn't hold any sentimental value to him. When he had been a student here he had basically spend all his time and effort on learning as much as possible.

Why exactly he couldn't say but he had a thirst for knowledge that had been even stronger six years ago. Having been taught many different things by many different people over the years that he had spent outside the academy he thought that it probably had to do with the fact books had always held a special value for him. When he had gotten any presents it had almost always been books and almost everything that he knew had been learned from books. While practical application had been explained to him by different people over the years, basically all of his theoretical knowledge came from books.

However there was more to it then that. Growing up without parents meant growing up with less guidance. While the people from the orphanage or the Hokage had shown him many things books had been somewhat of a constant in his life. Were it books on the theory of chakra or simply fairy tales, books had always accompanied him.

Books couldn't pester him or try to influence him. They didn't want his political power or the wealth of his clan. Books didn't want anything from him, they were simply there to be read.

Naruto greatly appreciated that. As the heir to the Senju clan the time that he had for himself was rather limited. Be it either political meetings, training or simply firendly chats it didn't matter. Somehow Naruto felt like he did most of that only out of a sense of obligation not because he wanted to. Sure he enjoyed speaking to his friends, as few in number as they were, but the training and political meetings deep down felt to Naruto like something that was not himself.

Why did he train? To get stronger obviously, but why did he do that? What was his purpose in getting stronger? When Naruto thought about this he most of the time came to the conclusion that he did so because he had to. He was the heir to the Senju clan and he wanted to show the world that he deserved that title but why did he want that? It wasn't that he was insecure or anything but Naruto believed that becoming stronger simply to prove something wasn't any good. What he really lacked was a real purpose. This train of thought had been plaguing his mind for a while now.

In the end the only thing he could do was push the thought to the back of mind and focus on the here and now. Team Placements, that was the reason that he was even here. His age group had passed their exam and he was to be placed on a team with them.

Reaching the class room that he had been told to meet his peers at Naruto raised his hand and knocked on the door three times before sliding the door open. What greeted Naruto really was not what he had been expecting.

Chaos was probably the best word to desribe what Naruto was seeing in the room that he had just entered. People were shouting, running through the room and generally behaving like complete children. Now Naruto knew that he and the other people in the room were barely in their teens but they were considered adults by the law when they became Shinobi. At the very least Naruto had expected some semblance of discipline.

Looking at the different people sitting or standing in the room Naruto recognized a few.

Nara Shikamaru was seated at one of the desks with his head laying on the desk. 'Probably sleeping...' Naruto thought. He really shoulkd have expected that. While Naruto didn't know Shikamaru as well as he did Neji he would still consider the two of them friends so Naruto was already accustomed to the mannerisms of the lazy Nara.

Next to the sleeping boy sat his ever-present sidekick Akimichi Choji happily munching on chips. Naruto didn't now the boy very well since he had only met Shikamaru by sheer coincedince when he had visited the Nara compound once. Since he enjoyed talking to Shikamaru and his father and the quiet atmosphere of the Nara compound was very calming he had visited rather frequently after the first time. While Choji visited his friends home very often they had never been able ot interact much with each other so he really didn't know much about the boy except that he was rather peaceful and like basically every Akimchi, loved food and eating.

Most of the others Naruto didn't recognized while he walked towards one of the free seats at the back of the class. When he got to the row closest to the back he saw one other face that he recognized. The dark hair, the slightly pale complexion and the coal-black eyes of the boy were a dead giveaway towards his identity.

Uchiha Sasuke was sitting in the corner-most seat of the class while looking out of the window impassively while still maintaining a brooding appearance. Naruto didn't know Sasuke well, however that didn't really matter, what did matter was the promise he had made to Itachi on _that_ night. He had promised to keep an eye out for Sasuke and he intended to keep that promise to the best of his abilities.

Walking up the aisle Naruto seated himself a row behind Shikamaru while nodding in greeting at Choji when he passed him. Looking aroung Naruto looked at the other occupants of the room. Some of civilians background others the descendants of one of Konoha's clans all of them could potentially be his comrades soon. Naruto knew of the second test that every Jonin was to condone once the teams were selected, so he was well aware of the fact that not everyone in this room would soon be going on potentially dangerous missions.

Naruto could see that not all of them were ready. While he didn't know how much exactly a Genin fresh out of the academy should be able to accomplish he knew for a fact that some of the people in this room weren't cut out for the life of a Shinobi. While all of them had the innocence in their eyes that he probably had aswell and that was expected of someone their age the question was who of the ones in this room would be able to let that innocence go and become a true Shinobi.

Shinobi were expected to kill, bribe and lie for a living. They were the weapons of the village, supposed to put the future of the village before their own desires and wishes. That was the cold hard truth of the matter and Naruto knew that, in theory that is. He really wasn't sure how he would deal with his chosen lifestyle. He had never taken the life of another human just like probably everyone else in the room. He had never seen a comrade die in front of him our seen his loved ones ripped away from him.

One person that was in the room with him right now though had atleast felt one of those things. Naruto wouldn't claim that he could empaphize with Sasuke he had never known his parents or any other family so he couldn't imagine what it would feel like to have that precious bond be ripped apart, by your own brother no less. It really was horrible to imagine something like that happening.

Naruto's musings were interrupted by the door of the room opening. Entering the room was a rather young man dressed in traditional Chunin garb. The brown-haired man had a scar running horizontally across the bridge of his nose and was carrying some documents with him.

'The instructor huh?' Naruto observed as the man walked to the front of the room and cleared his throat once. While some students scrambled for their seats others didn't seem to have noticed the appearance of the man and were continuing there actions.

A second, louder clearing of throat reached even those ears and they turned around just the slightest bit scared before they also scrambled for their seats.

Seemingly satisfied the young man took the papers that he had placed on the desk next ot him before and held them up so they were visible to everyone but so that no one could read them.

"In my hand I hold the placements of each of you in the class ranking. Your exam scores and the different grades you gathered in your years at this academy have been put together to form your final score. This has an impact on the way you are placed on a team." when the man finished his sentence murmurs erupted in the class.

'What a farce' Naruto scoffed inwardly when he heard that. As much as the students were lead to believe this their scores had nothing to do with their team placement. That was decided entirely by the Council of Konoha and the Hokage. While it was sometimes used to motivate students to do better or try harder during the academy years in the end it simply wasn't true.

Naruto could pick up the exited whispers of some students who thought that they would totally get on a great team because of their 'awesome' scores while others were nervously speaking about the possibility of their scores being too low.

After hearing those whispers Naruto tried to tune them out as best as possible while focusing back on the instructor. The man seemed to be giving the students some time before he once again got their attention with a accentuated clearing of the throat.

When the class had quieted down again Iruka continued by presenting the ones placed at the very top to them.

"The Rookie of the year is Uchiha Sasuke with constantly high scores throughout the years and the second best result for the Genin exam of his age group. You can be proud Sasuke-kun." Iruka said while smilling broadly and clapping lightly after finishing his sentence.

The whole class clapped loudly, while some were more restrained then others most of the females of the class seemed almost ecstatic when they heard who was placed first from all of them. Some of the quicker ones were a bit confused why Sasuke didn't have the best results on the exam and Naruto could see that Sasuke had picked up on that fact aswell. Deciding to simply stay in the background Naruto ceased his polite clapping and tried to not be noticed.

Before anybody could ask any questions Iruka continued with the Kunoichi of the year. "The Kunochi of this year is Haruno Sakura. With a nearly perfect score in theory Sakura had one of the best exam results but her grades throughout the years were the main cause for her placement as top of the class. However I'm very proud of you too. Congratulations!" once again everyone started clapping more or less dignified.

Unlike Sasuke who had simply remained silent Naruto bore witness to quite a different reaction from Sakura. Jumping up from her seat Sakura loudly whooped in joy and after that started pointing at a platinum blonde girl that had seated herself on the other side of Shikamaru before shouting at the top of her lungs that this proved who was better once and for all.

Naruto had a hard time holding back the urge to openly express his exasperation. Instead he only discreetly rolled his eyes and ignored the rest of the cheering. Was this some kind of kindergarten? That kind of celebration for simply graduating as the top Kunoichi really wasn't appropriate.

When Sakura had finally calmed down and seated herslef again Iruka continued his speech.

"Now that that is out of the way, let's continue with the team placemen… Yes, Kiba what is it?" seeing the normally disruptive boy raising his arm to ask a question Iruka was just a bit surprised. Since Kiba normally simply shouted out his questions or comments it was interesting to see him seemingly behave for once. Deciding the allow him to ask his question and then continue after answering Iruka addressed Kiba. That bit of time lost really wouldn't make a difference.

"So if Sasuke didn't get the highest exam score who did? It has to be me right?" asked Kiba while ending on a rather cocky note. Naruto really shouldn't have been surprised by the last remark. Members of the Inuzuka clan were known to be rather arrogant or cocky, especially the males.

"Well Kiba, the highest score wasn't earned by you it was actually earned by Senju Naruto who graduated after his first year but will be placed on teams with you since the Hokage decided that in times of peace early graduation like that wasn't necessary." when Iruka finished his sentence all eyes searched the room for the individual that was new amongst them. Spotting the white-haired boy the eyes of almost all the students turned to him one after another.

Not sure how to react Naruto simply stood up and decided to introduce himself formally. Walking to the front all eyes followed him as he walked down the steps. When Naruto arrived at the front who stood next to Iruka and looked at his peers. Not letting anything show on his face Naruto simplky introduced himself.

"I'm Senju Naruto and it is a pleasure to meet you all. I hope that we will be effective comrades soon." bowing once Naruto walked up the steps again and seated himself.

When the others noticed that he wouldn't been adding anything else they turned there attention back to the front of the class. When Iruka saw everyone looking at him expectantly he called out the make-up of the different teams starting with Team 1.

While Naruto was listening he felt eyes on him and he discreetly checked his surroundings to find out who was watching him. It wasn't long before Naruto noticed Uchiha Sasuke glancing at him from the corner of his eyes with a nasty glare.

Naruto didn't really know why the boy seemed to have a problem with him but decided to simply ignore it for now. It wasn't likely for them to be on the same team anyways so Naruto wouldn't see much of the boy while with his team.

Just when Naruto thought that, Iruka announced the members of Team 7.

"Team 7's Sensei is Hatake Kakashi. The members of the team are Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura..." here the announcement was interrupted by Sakura groaning loudly in what seemed to be annoyance. Before she could voice any protest Iruka continued with the final member.

"… and Uchiha Sasuke." once again Sakura interrupted Iruka, though in a different fashion then last time. Instead she jumped up from her seat and shouted at the top of her lungs that love had prevailed after all and that 'Ino-pig' had officially lost now.

All in all hearing that was rather disturbing to Naruto since he didn't think that anybody could be that excited to be on a team with someone else. However something else that Iruka-san had said surprised Naruto. 'Kakashi is training a team huh...'

Continuing when Sakura had stopped Iruka proceeded with Team 8.

"Team 8's Sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma and the members will be Akimichi Choji, Aburame Shino and Yamanaka Ino. Finally Team 10's Sensei will be Yamato and the members will be Nara Shikamaru, Kurama Yakumo and Senju Naruto. That are all the teams. Please wait for your new Sensei to arrive and pick you up. After that you Sensei will instruct you individually. I wish you all the best of luck in the future." having said his piece Iruka left the room. As soon as the door closed the students were back to the behaviour they had shown before Iruka had come. They were once again shouting and running through class though some were now searching for those on their team and conversing with them.

Since Naruto only really knew one member of his team he decided to look for the third one. He didn't remember anyone by the name of Kurama Yakumo being in his class but maybe she had joined after he had left?

Deciding to look around for students who hadn't joined up with their teammates he spotted a few. Shikamaru was still sitting there with his head on his arms pretending to sleep though Naruto had noticed that he had infact been aware of his surroundings the whole time.

Next to him Choji was still sitting and munching on his chips and he didn't seem like he was about to move very soon. Sasuke was also still sitting in his seat however Sakura and Kiba had moved towards his row and had seated themselves in the seats next to him. Looking through the room there was one more person still sitting in their seat and seemingly looking around for their teammates. The girl had brown hair going to about the small of her back and rather pale skin. She seemed to be rather physically weak which wasn't immediately a problem since if she was Yakumo there was the fact that her clan was heavily dependent on genjutsu anyway. Also it wasn't like a weak body couldn't be trained up in strength, speed and endurance. It would certainly take time and effort but it was still doable.

Standing up and started his trek towards the girl sitting in the middle row on the right side Naruto was immediately blocked by a platinum blonde girl that he could identify as Yamanaka Ino.

"Is there something I can help you with Yamanaka-san?" asked Naruto while raising an eyebrow in question.

"Oh I just thought that I should introduce myself to you since you are new in this class." answered Ino while smiling at him.

Naruto deadpanned just slightly when he heard that and immediately answered "I was in your class once Yamanaka-san I simply left after the first year I do still remember most of you."

Even though that could very well be taken as a sign for her to stop Ino wasn't deterred by it in the least still smiling she continued to talk to him.

"That doesn't matter I still thought it would only be polite to once again introduce myself. My name is Yamanaka Ino and I'm happy to meet you."

Deciding to simply go along with it so that he could move on Naruto answered in a similar fashion. "Very well, my name is Senju Naruto and it's a pleasure to meet you." slightly inclining his head Naruto ended the conversation and moved past her towards who he assumed to be Kurama Yakumo.

Arriving at her row Naruto opened his mouth, "Are you by any chance Kurama-san?"

When the girl heard him seemingly addressing her she turned towards him and slightly nodded before also answering, "Yes I'm Kurama Yakumo you are Senju Naruto correct?"

Hearing her question Naruto simply nodded once and motioned towards the empty seat beside Yakumo with his hand before asking if he could seat himself. Answering in the affirmative Yakumo looked at her soon-to-be teammate.

He was rather tall for being 13 just like all the other members of the class standing at about 5'3" tall. He had a lean build with white hair and blue eyes. He was clad in a white kimono that went to about knee-length and under that he had black pants fatsened with black medical tape at the calves. Instead of the normal ninja-sandals that most wore her teammate was wearing tabi-like sandals of black colour. The Kimono he was wearing was held closed by a light-grey sash.

While Yakumo was looking at her teammate Naruto was also taking a closer look at his only female teammate. Like he had seen from farther away her body seemed rather weka physically. She was wearing light-ping kimono with a red mesh shirt visble under it. A pink sash was fastened around her waist and she was wearing black knee-length shorts with a visible kunai holster at one leg. Her hitai-ate was worn around her neck and two clips kept her hair out of her face.

When the both of them had finished their discreet observation of the other they focused their attention back onto themselves. Looking around Naruto noticed that everyone except for Shikamaru was now with the other members of their team. Inwardly rolling his eyes at the behaviour of the Nara heir Naruto called out to him.

"Shikamaru would you mind coming here after all we three will soon be training and fighting together so I guess we should try to get to know each other better."

While Shikamaru didn't in any way indicate that he had heard Naruto, Naruto was almost completely sure that the boy was simply trying to avoid standing up since it was so 'troublesome'.

Turning his attention to his neighbor Naruto inclined his head towards Shikamaru's seat and stood up to seat himself in the same row as his other teammate with the female member of the team following.

Seating themselves on either side of Shikamaru they both fell silent, Yakumo because she wasn't sure if she should say anything and Naruto because he was thinking of the fastest way to get the Nara to give him their full attention.

Before any kind of plan could be put into action the door to the classroom opened and different people who were obviously the Jonin-sensei entered. Naruto didn't know any of the people that entered the room even though he had been trained by different people none of those entering right now were part of that group.

Nevertheless some individuals peeked Naruto's interest. The first one to catch Naruto's attention was a tall, bearded individual in the traditional Jonin attire of Konoha. What caught Naruto's attention was the sash kept at the man's waist identifying him as a former member of the Shugonin Junishi (Twelve Guardian Shinobi).

Naruto had heard of the group and knew that having been part of it was an obvious sign of someone being strong. The second person to catch his interest was a rather plain looking man with a happuri instead of the common hitai-ate. Wearing the normal Konoha Jonin attire he looked like the most normal Jonin of the bunch entering. But that was what really made Naruto pay attention. Being a Jonin alone was a testimony to someones skill but doing so without looking the least bit special was almost suspicious. Naruto had seen many different high-level Shinobi in Konoha but never one who just looked soplainand _normal._

Naruto realized that he man he had just labeled as normal and plain was his own Sensei when the man called out for Team 10 to follow him to Training Ground 10 and then left in a basic Shunshin.

Seeing this Naruto turned to his two teammates. Yakumo seemed ready to leave but was looking at him unsure of how to proceed exactly. Shikamaru on the other hand didn't seem like he wanted to get up anytime soon.

Sighing Naruto stood up and moved infront of both of his teammates. Laying a hand on on each of their shoulders Naruto almost smiled when he saw the confusion in Yakumo's gaze and the slight tensing of Shikamaru's muscles almost as if he knew what was going to happen.

Recalling the location of Training Ground 10 Naruto used a Fuuton: Shunshin to move himself and the other two members of his team to were they were supposed to meet their Sensei leaving behind slightly impressed Sensei's and surprised peers.

* * *

Appearing in Training Ground 10 Naruto and his two unwilling passengers reacted quite differently to the sudden stop in movement, a movement that had not exactly been slow in any regard. Yakumo, who didn't seem to have ever experienced a Shunshin immediately reacted the way that basically everyone did when first travelling in a Shunshin without being prepared. Falling to the ground Yakumo held her stomach and tried to stop herself from hurling.

Meanwhile Shikamaru also fell to the ground but he kept himself supported with his arm behind his back. With a slightly disgruntled expression on his face Shikamaru made it obvious that he didn't really appreciated being transported like that but he also showed Naruto that he had already travelled in such a way before which was to be expected from the son of the Jonin Commander.

Naruto himself had reacted similarly to Yakumo when he had first travelled by Shunshin. At the time Itachi had told him they would have to meet the Hokage and had simply put a hand on his shoulder before they had appeared in the office of the Sandaime.

After that Naruto had felt nausea when even thinking about travelling at such speed again but had gradually build up a resistance to the effects of clearing such a distance in a short amount of time.

After enjoying the reactions of his teammates for a bit longer Naruto focused his attention on the only other person present in the training ground. Scrutinising the person before him Naruto couldn't help but feel like he was familiar with the person standing before him.

While the outward appearance of his Sensei wasn't giving away much the chakra of the person before Naruto was something he thought he should be able to place. Naruto wouldn't claim that he was the best at sensing chakra he was certain that even his minor sensing abilities were enough to discern that he knew the person that was to be his Sensei.

Well, he would simply have to ask after they had done what they had come here to do.

Seeing that he had the attention of all three students standing before him Yamato decided to begin.

"Welcome Team 10. I think we will start with introductions before starting with our schedule for today. I will began and then you will proceed to introduce yourselves. My name is Yamato, I like architecture and forests and I dislike disrespect and laziness.", here Naruto could see his Sensei not-so-subtly looking at Shikamaru, "My hobbies include gardening and training. My dream is to be respected in the village and to serve Konoha to the best of my abilities."

Seeing that his teammates weren't to keen on taking the initiative Naruto decided to start.

"My name is Senju Naruto, I like Ice, forests, animals and training. My dislikes include arrogance, over-confidence and ignorance. My hobbies are training and reading. My dream is to enter ANBU." after finishing Naruto looked towards his teammates to see who would continue.

After a bit of silence Yakumo cleared her throat before starting. "My name is Kurama Yakumo my likes are drawing and genjutsu. My dislikes are the feeling of losing control and people who betray their own family. My hobbies are drawing and practising genjutsu. My dream is to master my clans Kekkei Genkai and to maybe become part of the Intelligence Division of Konoha." after finishing Yakumo looked towards the only possible that had yet to introduce themselves.

After a minute of being stared at by his two teammates and his new Sensei Shikamaru sighed once before starting with his introduction. "My name is Shikamaru Nara, my likes are sleeping, shogi and my friends, my dislikes are troublesome people and things that interrupt me while sleeping. My hobbies are sleeping and watching clouds. My dream is to become an average Shinobi so that I have enough time to watch the clouds." having finished his introduction Shikamaru seated himself on the ground, probably because standing was too 'troublesome'.

Naruto could only shake his head when hearing this. He had never met a person as lazy as the young Nara heir. Even for Nara standards he was a lazy one and that said something.

Since everybody had finished introducing themselves Yamato decided to continue.

"Now that we know eachother a bit better it is time to start with the reason that we are even here. You see while you may have passed the Genin Exam in the academy that doesn't actually make you a Genin. It only qualifies you to become one. To actually become a Genin each cell will have to pass the test that their Sensei provides them with. In this regard the Senseis have a high amount of freedom in choosing how to test the team that they are presented with. So we will now have to see if you have what it takes to become Genin or if you will be sent back to the academy."

Hearing this the three Genin all reacted a bit different. Naruto got a determined look in his eyes. He needed to do this. He had trained for this moment for years and now he could show the fruits of his training.

Shikamaru sighed once in annoyance. Why did he have to take another test? Wasn't one enough? Well, if he didn't want to have his mother angry at him he should better get this done even though it was a drag. So Shikamaru got ready for whatever kind of test it would be.

Yakumo wasn't sure about this whole thing. While she had trained incredibly hard to use her genjutsu abilities without losing control she wasn't as confident in her abilities as she would like to be. However she knew that failing this test was not acceptable so gaining a resolute stance Yakumo awaited further instruction.

Seeing his students expression made Yamatao internally smile before continuing.

"This test is rather easily explained. You are to retrieve a scroll form a small hut somewhere in this forest. This scroll then needs to be taken back to this point undamaged. I will be defending the hut and try to get back the scroll should you manage to extract it. Understood?" seeing no questions needed to be answered Yamato started the test.

"Very well. Start!" after announcing the start of the test Yamato once again vanished in a Shunshin leaving his three students behind to plan.

Seeing that their Sensei has left Naruto turns to his two teammates.

"Ok guys, we need some kind of plan." saying this Naruto looked specifically at Shikamaru who, when realising that he was being stared at, only sighed in a manner that some would associate with great suffering but was really just him expressing his displeasure with having to do anything.

"Ok so if we are going to do this I need to know some of your skills, I really don't know anything about our Sensei but we should be able to do this if we do our best." this kind of talk was a bit out of character for Shikamaru or any Nara really but he had learned from his father that there was a place and time for being lazy and one for being serious.

Seeing the truth in the statement Naruto started followed by Yakumo and at the end even Shikamaru shared what he could do so that his teammates knew what to expect from him, atleast that was Naruto's reasoning.

"Ok guys so this is how we will do this…."

* * *

Right now Yamato was hiding in the branches of a tree next to the hut that he had created with his Mokuton abilities. He really wasn't sure what to expect from the team. He knew Naruto since he was training him in his Mokuton abilities though Yamato was rather sure that Naruto hadn't yet realised that his ANBU tutor and his Genin team Sensei were the same person. The other two he didn't really know well, while he had read the academy records for the both of them he didn't really give them much leverage.

The academy in general was flawed to high degree especially if you asked members of ANBU. Because of the peaceful times the quality of Shinobi coming from the academy had dropped dramatically since the Civilian Council had somehow been able to influence the curriculum.

So he would have to see how the Yakumo and Nara heir would do himself especially in combination with the Senju heir. Naruto's strength was extremely impressive especially for his age. The age could easily take opponents of Chunin level with the repertoire of skills that he called his own. And now that he knew about his tenant his growth would probably be even faster.

Yamato was knocked out of his thoughts when he was alerted by one of his Mokuton Bunshin that his students were moving in the direction of the hut. While initially surprised by the method used to locate the hut in the forest he really should have expected it from a descendant of the Shodaime and especially the Nidaime. Using the technique that the Nidaime had used for locating things Naruto had used his chakra like a sonar by expelling it in waves that travelled on the surface of the ground.

Right now his three students were simply travelling at speeds a bit slower then standard Genin speeds towards his location. Even though Yamato was not overly concerned he was wary. His Bunshin had also relayed to him that before moving in his direction Naruto had dropped a smoke bomb without any discernible reason.

While Yamato could simply write it off as the Senju heir being careless or clumsy he knew Naruto. The boy had a good head on his shoulders and could be extremely cunning if he wanted to be. While not on the level of a Nara, Naruto was very intelligent and knew how to apply his knowledge in a practical way. So Yamato would stay alert.

Sensing his students stopping Yamato decided to change position. He didn't know if Naruto was able to locate him with his technique aswell but he wouldn't take the chance. After relaying the order to keep their senses alert to his clones strewn about the forest Yamato moved closer deciding to watch and see what his students would do.

* * *

Naruto was pretty sure that the plan they had come up with had a rather high chance of success and it woul certainly work against all Chunin but a Jonin? He had never seen Kakashi, or any of his other teaches go all out even though they sometimes claimed they were he knew that they weren't. Kakashi was a borderline S-Rank Shinobi there was not a chance in hell that he was able to make him even brake a sweat even when he tried his hardest, so Naruto really wasn't sure how much strength he should expect.

Realising that they had come rather close to the hut that Yamato had designated as their target Naruto signalled for his two teammates to stop. Turning around Naruto saw that while Shikamaru still looked fine Yakumo was already breathing heavier and the slightest bit of sweat was visible. She had informed them of her weak body and how she wanted to improve in that regard but Naruto hadn't thought that it was this bad.

Deciding to simply keep it in mind but not mention it Naruto turned towards Shikamaru.

"You ready Shikamaru?" asked Naruto while looking at the Nara heir that was still looking rather serious.

"Yes you can start, me and Yakumo will proceed with our part." he answered.

Once more nodding at each other Naruto split of from the two and simply moved in the direction of the hut. He knew that he couldn't beat Yamato-sensei, however that wasn't his job anyways.

Travelling at much higher speeds then before Naruto reached the clearing that the hut was located in in a few seconds.

As soon as he left the treeline Yamato-sensei appeared before him seemingly just casually standing there but Naruto wasn't buying it. Being a Shinobi was all about deception and he wouldn't expect friendly banter when he was in essence tasked to steal or retrieve a scroll.

Letting a Kunai fall into his hand from his sleeve Naruto readied himself and stayed alert for everything.

"So you have decided to simply use the direct approach?" asked Yamato-sensei in a casual manner.

Naruto didn't let it bother him. He didn't reply and simply stayed alert.

Seeing that he wouldn't get a reaction out of his student this way Yamato decided to see how his student was able to fight.

Using slow Chunin speed Yamato appeared in front of his student and tried to lash out with his left hand trying to hit Naruto at the head.

Naruto had been ready for such an attack though and since he was easily able to track movement at such speeds he was able to simply jump backwards to dodge the hit. Seeing his Sensei overreaching slightly Naruto decided to try something. Taking out another Kunai Naruto engaged his Sensei in combat trying to get the upper hand through his use of Kunai whereas his Sensei was still barehanded.

The first slash was immediately dogded by Yamato through simply moving with the momentum and turning before then lashing out with his right hand for backhanded attack against Naruto. Ducking under the blow Naruto took the other Kunai and slashed the unguarded abdomen of his Sensei. What surprised Naruto was that instead of feeling no resistance because of his Sensei dodging he felt his Kunai cutting into what felt like wood. Looking down Naruto saw that not a wound but the tell-tale sign of an edge cutting into wood greeted him. Realising both the identity of his Sensei and the fact that he had been fighting a Bunshin Naruto decided to put some distance between himself and the Bunshin that was now retracting into the earth. He knew that elemental clones were generally much weaker then the real deal so had to be careful if the real Yamato wasn't here he could be everywere.

Looking around Naruto saw two more Yamato's appear ready to fight him, both of which were probably Bunshin. Naruto had realised that his Sensei was probably restricting himself in strength to a high degree, since Naruto didn't think that he should be able to land a hit on a Jonin that easily.

However this meant that while Naruto had a much higher chance of winning against the Bunshin it also meant that his Sensei could freely up the level if he felt like it which would probably catch him unaware. Somebody suddenly becoming stronger during a fight really wasn't normal and not something Naruto could easily accustom to.

His musings were interrupted by one of the Bunshin charging him with a Kunai in hand while the other started doing handseals to prepare a jutsu.

Throwing one of his Kunai at the charging Bunshin Naruto decided to deal with the Jutsu first. Going through a short series of handseals Naruto whispered the name of his technique under his breath.

" _Fuuton: Daitoppa"_ right after that Naruto exhaled a strong gust of wind at the Bunshin that had just finished it's handseals. Believing that problem to be dealt with for a bit Naruto focused back on the enemy that was now directly infront of him.

Blocking the Bunshin's slash with his own Kunai Naruto knew that he probably wouldn't be able to win a battle of pure physical strength. So deciding to use one of the first things he had learnt for Fuuton chakra Naruto channeled the nature chakra through his Kunai thereby strengthening and sharpening the blade.

With the provided enhancement his Kunai easily cut through the one in the Bunshin's hand. The Bunshin seeing the surge of chakra early enough to react dropped the Kunai and lashed out with it's other hand. The thrown hook was caught in Naruto's other hand who immediately tried to get further away so he had some breathing room.

Just when Naruto was about ot jump away he felt a surge of chakra to the left of him. Turning in that direction Naruto saw what looked like a Suiton: Teppodoma being launched at him by the Bunshin he had tried to hit earlier.

Jumping back since he really didn't want ot get hit by the prerssurised stream of water Naruto took out another Kunai and aimed it at the caster of the jutsu.

Hoping that the clone wouldn't immediately dodge Naruto threw out his other hand that was still holding a Kunai while whispering the name of his technique, _"Fuuton: Reppushou"_.

With that a smaller and weaker but more focused stream of wind left his hand speeding up the Kunai leading to the Bunshin not fully being able to dodge. The Bunshin was hit in the shoulder by the enhaced Kunai but didn't immediately dispel like the last one. Instead the Bunshin pulled out the Kunai and took it into it's own hand though the clone was visibly panting a sign that it was close to being dispelled.

The punishment of not being aware of his second adversary came in the form of a punch that hit Naruto square in the face when he turned back in the direction of the other Bunshin leading to Naruto being propelled backwards into a tree a bit further away.

One thing was fact, Yamato-sensei hit _hard_. Getting up while releasing the slightest grunt of pain Naruto looked for the two Bunshin. Seeing neither of the two Naruto took his team to use the little bit of medical knowledge he had to dull the pain in his face, what damage had been inflicted would be healed almost immediately anyway even if he did nothing.

Naruto knew that he would have to defeat the two Bunshin as fast as possible because his other two teammates were probably fighting the real Yamato right now and while he didn't think they were weak he knew for a fact that they couldn't handle Yamato, even he couldn't.

Seeing the Bunshin that had punched him running towards him Naruto got ready to finish the fight.

Channeling Fuuton chakra into two new Kunai Naruto used a variation of the Shunshin adapted to combat to move at incredibly high speeds. The only thing heard was the slightest of winds before Naruto was behind the Bunshin still looking ahead of him. The Bunshin immediately dispelled after the two cuts done by the enhanced Kunai took affect, one cut going from the left side of the Bunshin's west to the right shoulder while the other was a clean cut from the left side of the throat to the right one. While certainly a brutal maneuver Naruto had realised early on that there were brutal moves and unnecessarily brutal moves, some more effective then others.

In the end he was well aware that his chosen occupation was a bloody one, one that was filled with hate, death and bloodshed. So he simply tried to do his job the best way he could.

Since he had another, though injured, Bunshin to deal with Naruto made his way back to the clearing were he presumed the Bunshin may be waiting. When Naruto got close to the treeline he felt the chakra spike behind which left him just enough time to avoid the wooden spikes that were sprouting from the ground looking to eviscerate him. Continuing in the same direction Naruto jumped onto a branch close to him to doge the spikes. Turning around Naruto couldn't spot the Bunshin that had attacked him. Observing his surroundings Naruto waited for any sign of his enemy. Feeling another chakra spike to the right of him Naruto was once again forced to spring into action by his adversary.

Molding his own chakra while jumping from the tree and turning around Naruto fired another _Fuuton: Daitoppa_ in the direction of the attack. Seeing the gust of air make contact with a jet of water Naruto landed on the ground with only one Kunai in hand. The other hand already been thrown towards the Bunshin before Naruto had completely landed so he had only left.

Running towards his enemy to finally take the Bunshin out and go help his team Naruto spotted the copy of his Sensei cancelling the Suiton technique to gain some distance. Naruto wouldn't give him that chance though. Using the Chakra Nature that he was most comfortable with Naruto used the Water left behind by the Bunshin's attack and turned it into spears made of Ice. The formed spears hovered in the air for only a second before, on Naruto's command, blitzing towards the Bunshin that had desperately tried to seek cover. It was to no avail though. The long spears easily pierced through the trunk of the tree that was used as cover and were able to dispel the Copy behind it aswell.

Releasing the handseal that he had been holding Naruto breathed out the name of technique before leaving towards the location of his teammates, " _Hyo_ _u_ _ton:_ _Hyousourengan" (Ice Spear Barrage)_

(AN: probably wrong, if someone has some knowledge when it comes to japanese please message me, for all the others, I'd like to know if the English names for the techniques are enough)

* * *

Shikamaru really didn't like the situation he was in right now. He and Yakumo had been fighting two Yamato's since shortly after splitting up from Naruto. Right now Shikamaru was barely holding down both clones with his _Kagemane no Jutsu_ however he knew he wouldn't be able to hold it very long. The two clones were physically strong enough to soon overpower his control of their bodies and he was running out of chakra. Next to him Yakumo had brought out a scroll that she was now using to draw something for one of her Genjutsu, however Shikamaru could see that she was really exhausted. It wasn't that she didn't have enough chakra it was simply that her stamina was too low. The two enemies had simply fought them in Taijutsu first but Shikamaru had soon realised that the two were trying to tire them out. It had already been a bit too late at that point though.

Yakumo had already been a bit exhausted from simply getting to their current position and her weak body really showed during the short moments of Taijutsu bouts. She was simply not up to the task at this moment. Shikamarru himself couldn't boast about his stamina either and he was getting close to his limit in that regard aswell.

So what should they do? He could probably count on Yakumo's genjutsu to atleast hold their enemies for a few seconds so he would have to atleast get rid of one in that time.

The question is what kind of genjutsu would Yakumo try to use? Shikamaru didn't know many genjutsu and about Yakumo he only knew that she was rather gifted in that category of the Shinobi Arts and that in theory her Kekkei Genkai would give her incredible powers if she learned to control it, however how much could she do at this point?

His musings were interrupted by one of the adversaries breaking the hold of his jutsu with sheer strength just like he had predicted. However before the clone could do anything else it suddenly stopped. Hoping to be right Shikamaru took out one of the Kunai that he still had threw it at the immobilised enemy. The Kunai suprisingly to Shikamaru hit it's mark and took out the Bunshin that then reverted back to a wooden creature that slowly fused with the ground under it. Turning towards Yakumo Shikamaru saw the other Yamato behind Yakumo ready to knock her out.

Just when he was about to notify Yakumo a chakra infused Kunai flew through the head of the Yamato from the side. This one did also revert back to wood afterwards.

Looking in the direction that the Kunai came from Shikamaru spotted Naruto jumping from a tree not too far away from them.

"Are the two of you alright?" asked Naruto after landing and picking up his Kunai. Seeing his two teammates nodding Naruto released a small sigh of relief. It seemed like Yamato-sensei had made it rather easy for them. Naruto knew the man could have easily dealt with his two teammates while he was preoccupied by the two Bunshin. It seemed that everything had worked out suprsingly well though.

Thinking that Naruto lowered his left arm slightly so that a small fox with a scrol in it's mouth could jump on his arm. Taking the scroll the fox dispelled itself in a cloud of smoke and Naruto spent a moment to look through the memories of his Kage Bunshin.

Creating two new copies of himself Naruto lowered himself to the ground and positioned his index and middle finger on the earth before sending a pulse of chakra through it while closing his eyes. Sensing nothing in the immediate vicinity. Naruto stood back up and gave his two Bunshin who had layed a hand one of his teammates each a small nod.

A moment later the clearing was left deserted with only a gust of wind as a possible sign for what might have happened.

* * *

Arriving in the clearing that they had started their little test in all three member of the team were surprised to see Yamato already waiting for them there. While the suprise was better hidden Naruto's and to a degree in Shikamaru's case both of them still showed it on their faces.

While Naruto wasn't sure if the test was already over it seemed to be the case since Yamato had let them leave the clearing and hadn't attacked them yet. Taking out the scroll Naruto addressed his Sensei.

"Mission accomplished Yamato-sensei." seeing the accepting nod of the man infront of him Naruto relaxed his guard since the test seemed over.

"Congratualtions, you did very well. Since you passed this test we are now officially Team 10. From now on we will accomplish missions and train together. I will be tutoring you on general things and will be individually tutoring each of you. Should you have things to learn coming from your clans you can come to me for advise if you want. Tomorrow I will evaluate each of you separately since I have seen you perform as a team today. After that we will see how exactly we proceed. Meet me here at 7 o'clock sharp tomorrow." after saying this Yamato left the training ground in a basic Shunshin.

Looking towards his two teammates Naruto also said something, "I hope that we wil be able to work together well and should any of need help I will also be happy to help, should any of you want to look for me I can almost always be found at the Senju compound I'd be happy to train with the both of you. I will see you tomorrow." after executing a small bow towards both teammates Naruto left in a Fuuton Shunshin leaving only a gust of wind.

After saying their goodbyes Shikamaru and Yakumo also left the training ground.

* * *

Arriving in the Senju compound Naruto decided to do something he had been wanting to do ever since the Hokage had talked to him a few days ago.

Getting to a quiet and serene spot that Naruto greatly enjoyed meditating in Naruto sat down on a patch of grass and closed his eyes ot start meditating.

After a moment Naruto felt his consciousness reach a place different then the outside world. Opening his eyes Naruto looked around at a snow-covered forest with a frozen lake in the middle that seemed vaguely familiar.

Walking through the landscpae for a bit Naruto reached a place were pillars of Ice and trees formed something akin to bars. Behind these bars lay darkness very much unnatural for a place that was normally well illuminated.

Looking into the darkness Naruto felt the entity that he had been looking to meet. Sitting down in a meditating position Naruto closed his eyes and simply waited.

A moment later he felt the entity move closer to the bars he however didn't open his eyes instead he simply waited a bit longer before addressing his tenant in a respectful but otherwise neutral tone of voice.

"Hello, Kyuubi."

" **Hello, Ningen."**

* * *

Ningen means Human being.

 **Sorry for the long wait but I was unsatisfied with this chapter multiple times and had to rewrite it so it took longer then I would have liked. It is longer then usual to make up for it. Now for some questions, would you guys like me to write down the translations for the canon jutsu in english when I use them or is it enough if I use the japanese terms? For the jutsu that I make up myself, are the English names enough? I really have no idea about japanese grammar and it will probably wrong if I try to make them japanese but I will do my best if you want me too.**

 **Thanks to everyone that is reading the stroy and I'm happy about every Follow, Favorite and Review that I receive. It really helps in keeping me motivated.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Naruto of the true Ice**

 _Battle Avatar – Unknown_

 _How exactly the Senju came to have the ability to construct Avatars with their Chakra is not known to me. The fact of the matter is that some members of the Senju Clan however can create these constructs. They differ from person to person in strength, durability and form and how exactly these things are decided is not known to anybody as far as I know._

 _What I know is that the simple act of constructing the Avatar takes a great amount of Chakra and even then not every Senju was able to use this ability. Because of this and the fact that no one willingly shared information on it's possession nothing has been recorded other then rumors or worshipping witness reports that overstate the effects of the ability, comparing the Avatar to a God striking it's enemies._

 _The ability is rumoured to have been used by the man that founded the Senju Clan there are however no official records of this. Through time different Senju had gained Nicknames that strongly indicate the use of this ability. The Uchiha Clan itself is able to somehow gain a similar ability._

 _The Act of constructing the Avatar is always a conscious effort and is not triggered subconsciously if that was the case the ability would have been more common, this way only those with prior knowledge could gain the ability._

 _I'm not sure if trying to attain this ability is worth the effort, most of what I have wrote down here is based on rumours and tales told in the Senju Clan or notes that I have come to possess. Who ever reads this, do with this information what you want to but I advise you to be careful what you do. A great expenditure of Chakra has been a recorded as a cause of death a lot of times over the years because it can lead to Chakra Exhaustion._

* * *

"Today's Mission is the cat owned by the wife of a rich and influential business owner who is part of the Civilian Council in Konoha. Unfortunately Tora has run away and we are tasked with bringing her back. Tora can be identified by the red ribbon on her right ear and her brown fur." explained Yamato to the three Genin in front of him.

This was the first time that Team 10 would be taking this mission since they had mostly opted to do more stationary D-Ranks in Konoha. It had been a total of three weeks as Team 10 now and the three Genin were coming along nicely. Their teamwork was very good considering the time that they knew each other and individually they had also improved greatly.

Naruto, who had an insane learning curve anyway hadn't gotten any slower when it came to learning and was easily High-Chunin material already when it came to the skills, he however lacked experience in real battles. The boy kept coming up with new ideas for Hyouton Jutsu and he had learned a new jutsu for each of his basic affinities in the three weeks. The young Genin had also started using two Tanto to fight, deciding to use Kunai more as a last resort in Close Quarters Combat and preferring them for throwing.

Shikamaru had broadened his repertoire of Jutsu by asking his father for some training and had worked on his taijutsu and strategic thinking with Yamato. The boy was a certifiable genius, the only problem being his extreme laziness. When the boy chose to apply himself he could actually make it hard for Naruto to remain ahead since Shikamaru was even a tactical genius by Nara standards.

Yamato's own work ethic coupled with a slight amount of competitiveness sparked by Naruto had lead to Shikamaru trying much harder then before. However the boy still was a lazy one but now it was actually manageable.

Yakumo had probably improved the most when compared to the state she was in during the Genin Exam, while certainly not weak because of her talent with Genjutsu her body had held her back greatly. After primarily working on strength, speed, stamina and taijutsu for the three weeks her physical condition was much better. Her body could now keep up much longer giving her about Genin level physical abilities. The good thing was that by giving her a good enough base concerning the body she had a much better chance of invoking her Genjutsu and through that not needing to rely on physical activity while fighting. The girl had trained with her Clan and Yuuhi Kurenai, one of the best Genjutsu users in Konoha at the moment and had come up with a few quite nasty Illusions.

All in all Yamato was confident that his Team could finish a C-Rank Mission and he would ask for one soon. Now though he would let them try to catch that damn cat.

* * *

This wasn't what Yamato had expected when he had chosen to apply for this particular D-Rank. Normally Genin Teams cursed the very existence of Tora after doing the mission once maybe twice since the cat kept fleeing and scratching the Genin.

Instead his Team simply walked through Konoha for a bit before a brown cat with red ribbon on it's right ear came trotting up to Naruto. Naruto had then simply picked up the cat now identified as Tora and started petting her, the animal snuggling into the Genin and purring contently the whole way to the Hokage Tower.

While Naruto's teammates and Naruto himself probably didn't know the implications of this happening Yamato was well aware of them. Tora was the mission hated by basically every Shinobi in Konoha. The cat ran away all the time and catching her always ended in a wild goose chase. It was so bad that the different teams had sometimes made bets on who would catch Tora the fastest, the bad thing being that the time used for the mission was usually above 2 hours and ended with atleast one Genin having his face littered with scratches.

When Team 10 reached the Mission Office in the Hokage Tower they were not the only team in the room, Team 7 was also there with all the members looking rather disgruntled and dirty while Kakashi was his usual lazy self simply standing there and reading his book.

When Team 7 spotted Tora in Naruto's arms their faces soured even more and a small growl could be heard from Kiba. Kakashi simply greeted Team 10 with a lazy wave before going back to his book.

Naruto and Yamato being used to Kakashi's behaviour simply greeted him in their own ways.

"Hello Kakashi-sensei/Kakashi-senpai." was said and accompanied by a nod. The last person to spot Team 10 and with it Tora was incidentally the Client who immediately stormed towards Naruto and took the cat from him before proceeding to squeeze Tora to death leading to Tora looking visibly unhappy with the situation. After that the woman simply left the room with her cat in her arms.

Yakumo leaned over to Naruto and whispered to him, "No wonder the poor thing ran away..". Naruto and Shikamaru, who had also heard her, simply nodded before focusing on their Sensei who had stepped towards one of the Chunin manning the Mission Distribution Desk.

"Team 10 reporting the success of assigned D-Rank 'Catch Tora'. The target has been caught and brought back to the Client who has received said target 'Tora'. The written report has already been finished and is supplied together with the scroll for the Mission." after completing the normal procedure the Chunin who had wrote down some things accepted the scrolls for the D-Rank Mission from their Sensei and filed away some paperwork.

"Mission success of D-Rank 'Catch Tora' has been acknowledged and the pay will handed out to the accounts of the members of Team 10 accordingly."

When this was over Team 7 who had just received another mission, probably D-Rank, left the room with Kakashi trailing behind his students.

Seeing their Sensei turn around to address them all three Genin of Team 10 stood at attention.

"For today we will not be doing anymore missions we will proceed with some training. Tomorrow I expect you all ready for a C-Rank at the Main Gate at 8:00 AM. Pack accordingly and be ready for confrontation. Meet me in our training ground in 5 minutes for some training and an opportunity to ask questions should any come up." with this Yamato dismissed his Genin who left the room directly following their Sensei's dismissal.

* * *

After some training with his team Naruto arrived a the Senju compound. After getting a quick bite to eat Naruto moved towards the area of the Senju compound suited for training. Normally he would train with Neji there but the Hyuuga was on a mission with his team and wouldn't be back for a while.

When Naruto reached the spot he had been looking for he decided on some meditation and thinking first. Seating himself in the middle of the clearing Naruto crossed his legs and closed his eyes.

He greatly enjoyed the quiet and tranquillity of nature. It helped him think clearly and gave him time to focus. The slight breeze blowing through the clearing making the leaves on the trees standing on the edge of the clearing rustle. The sound of the water from a stream not too far away flowing at a sedate pace. The small animals that Naruto knew were there but he couldn't quite sense because they, being normal animals, had such tiny chakra capacities, especially compared to his own.

For Naruto that drove home the fact that he was everything but normal. No one his age should have chakra levels as high as his own. Right now he had more chakra then probably 95% of Shinobi will ever have and training to increase his chakra capacity was and had always been the farthest thing from his mind. His heritage as an Uzumaki and a Senju alone would have granted him a high amount of chakra. Then there was his tenant, being a Jinchuuriki especially of the Kyuubi meant that his Chakra reserves would always dwarf those of his comrades no matter how hard they trained.

Thinking of his unwilling prisoner Naruto decided to pay a visit, he really held no sort of grudge against the Bijuu sealed in him. He had never witnessed anything that would justify such sentiments so he had decided to give the Bijuu the benefit of the doubt. Sure Naruto knew that nearly the whole population of Konoha would do anything but chat with the Kyuubi if they could but Naruto really couldn't care less.

If he would start doing things that most people did he not be Naruto Senju anymore. He owed it to his ancestors to stand tall and proud as the heir to his clan, atleast that was how he felt.

Delving into his mind Naruto noticed that the transition into his mindscape was smoother the more often he visited this spiritual plane. Naruto wasn't sure if a mindscape was normal thing every person could access through intense training and meditation or if this was an ability reserved for those branded as human sacrifices and tools of war. In the end Naruto knew that he was a weapon, a more effective one then almost anybody in the elemental nations if he was given some time. That is what being the Kyuubi vessel entailed most likely.

Entering the snowy and frozen forest that was his mindscape Naruto once again marvelled at the beauty that was his mindscape. He had never tried to change even the tiniest bit since he loved the feeling of complete fulfilment this place held, most likely because it was a representation of his own mind. It would spell trouble if he wasn't comfortable in his own mind. For him this was the perfect place.

Walking through the snowy expense Naruto thought about his current abilities and his training. At this point he was rather pleased with his current repertoire however he wanted to better master the things he had already learned. Since the jutsu he used for his Hyouton were basically all self-made they could be easily improved upon. Since there had never been a user of the chakra nature in the village all he had to go off concerning documents to help him were reports written down by people who had fought members of the Yuuki clan, the clan Naruto had learned that normally possessed this ability.

Since these reports could obviously not explain how the jutsu worked the only thing they were good for was to give him new ideas for techniques.

Reaching the place he had been walking towards Naruto seated himself in a cross-legged position and waited. Kyuubi would soon come, she always did when he entered the mindscape, though the vixen had a habit of letting him wait.

When he had discovered the Kyuubi to be female he hadn't been too surprised. While not much was known about the Bijuu, Naruto had wondered about the reasoning behind there different forms ever since he had first heard of them. In the end Naruto had hypothesised that the animal or animals their forms resembled probably gave an inkling towards there personalities.

Kyuubi being a kitsune, was most likely the most cunning and devious of the bunch. While Naruto hadn't known the Bijuu to have a gender he believed that since they had certain personalities a gender would at some time be decided if they hadn't been 'born' with one.

In the end it made no difference to him. He had decided to be cautious with the Kyuubi when he had found out that he contained her and his first meeting had only strengthened his belief that he should always keep his wits about him when talking with his tenant. She was a trickster and while not necessarily evil in any sense she probably had her own goals that very likely would never coincide with his own.

" **So what is it that you have decided to visit me for Ningen?"** was the first thing Naruto heard of his tenant. It was said in powerful and proud voice that still retained a feminine quality to it. Opening his eyes Naruto looked up at the fox-like Bijuu that had made herself comfortable in front of him. The Kyuubi had a air of boredom and disinterest about her that seemed to always be present. Naruto didn't let that deter him though.

"I have simply come to inquire about your current situation. There really is no intent behind my visit beside me wanting to socialise with my tenant for a bit." saying this Naruto conveyed a sense of innocence that Kyuubi knew to be entirely fake. If she had learned anything about the Senju that was her container it was that he should not be taken at face-value or underestimated. Should you do so it would be your last mistake.

However she was just as much a trickster as her container could be and she would play this game if her counterpart so desired.

" **Simply enjoying my time as best as I can trapped here as I am. I dwell in memories of times long past or think of my siblings and what their situation might be. Seeking entertainment is no possibility in this prison I find myself in and I'm not so weak as to socialise with you simply to pass the time."** while said with the slightest hint of humour in her voice Naruto knew that what the vixen said was true. In the end she was forced into this situation just like he was.

Not letting his thoughts be seen Naruto feigned a hurt expression and tone while responding, "Do I not satisfy the standards of this mighty vixen? May I inquire as to how I could make your life more enjoyable. While I have not desire nor ability to change our connection with each other this is my mind and I do hold certain power in here."

While a seemingly open and good willed proposal Kyuubi certainly wasn't convinced. While young the Senju had learned how to hide his emotions very fast and cracking his mask was no easy matter. For now she would not trust the words spoken by the mortal before her. Narrowing her eyes slightly the barest growl could be heard developing in her throat – a warning sign if there ever was one.

" **I have no need for your help or pity Ningen. You may hold power and say with your kin however those do not hold value with me. Do not assume I can be easily fooled into anything. Leave if you nothing else to say.."** after saying her piece Kyuubi stood up from her position on the ground and turned around to walk towards another part of the prison she inhabited.

Seeing that the conversation was finished Naruto decided to finish his meditation and get some more training done. He would see if he and the vixen could ever work together or anything of the sort. While his tenant might not believe the legitimacy of his offer it had actually been a genuine one. He held no grudge or ill feelings towards her and really wasn't hard to change anything in his mind, atleast he presumed that. He couldn't really fault the vixen for her mistrust though, goodness of the heart wasn't something he believed in either so he wouldn't expect that from others.

* * *

Naruto had been out of the village more times then his two teammates probably had been but he was relieved to see them not showing any signs of nervousness or anxiety.

He really didn't want to deal with that right now. Travelling through the woods towards there destination was somewhat relaxing for Naruto. Maybe it was the fact that he was close to nature or the fact that he was using and controlling his chakra he didn't know but it was rather calming anyways.

While jumping from branch to branch basically on autopilot Naruto thought a bit more about his team. Since he had already known Yamato before the Team had been formed he not been surprised in anyway. The man was professional all the way through and was easy to work with most of the time.

Then there was Shikamaru. Since neither Yamato nor Naruto himself would accept slacking off during training Shikamaru had been forced to actually put effort into the training and it showed. The Nara had become much better in controlling his shadows and he had started to work on his taijutsu more. However he was still way too lazy for Naruto's tastes since as soon as training ended Shikamaru would be right back to cloud watching and lazing about.

Naruto sometimes thought that maybe he was being to hard on Shikamaru in this regard and that he was seeing this whole issue differently then others his age did which was entirely plausible. However he also thought that most of his peers were taking the Shinobi business entirely to lightly so that really didn't count for much.

And lastly there was Yakumo, she was an introverted girl and Naruto kind of appreciated it. She spend a lot of time painting and drawing on her own as far as he knew and she was still a rather hard worker when it came to training. Her genjutsu were nothing to scoff at however her weak body still gave her trouble sometimes.

Naruto, while he hadn't let it show had been rather disgruntled when he had been told that he would have to be placed on a Team with his former classmates. Naruto wouldn't call himself arrogant however he was aware that he was far ahead of all of them.

It was simply a logical conclusion that he, having trained with experienced Jonin or other teachers during the time that his peers had been in the academy was ahead of them by a fair margin.

It in the end he would never have been able to do anything against it anyways. As much as he considered the Sandaime to be dear to him the man was still the Hokage and could simply order him to do as he said. It was the hard truth and it didn't really bother Naruto. As a Shinobi he was expected to follow orders if he couldn't live with that he should have chosen a different profession.

Focusing back on reality Naruto realised that the forest was thinning out which meant there were approaching there destination.

After a few more jumps they finally passed the tree line and all members of the team landed on the ground while the three Genin waited for further instruction by their Sensei.

"The mission that we have been assigned concerns a bandit camp about three and a half clicks to the north from here. A nearby village has been hit repeatedly by small raids and travelling merchants too poor for protection have been ambushed on their towards the village. Since the village isn't big enough to afford some kind of guard post or any thing of the like they have turned to Konoha to deal with the issue. We have been given free reign as long as the bandits are exterminated." explained Yamato to his students. While it was their first C-Rank mission and they would also experience their first kills Yamato wanted to handle this completely professional for now and use normal mission procedure.

He thought that being to easy on Genin only encouraged them to rely on others to make their decisions and wouldn't prepare them for the duties of a Chunin or even Jonin at all, add to that the fact that the new teams of this generation were nearly completely made up of clan heirs who were expected to atleast reach Jonin rank it would be detrimental to pamper them in this regard.

Our plan will be made once we have gotten a better view of the situation. We will need to do some scouting before we are able to formulate a good plan of action, for now we will search for a good spot closer to the camp that we can use as a meeting place.

After making sure everyone had understood everything Yamato resumed travelling with his Genin.

* * *

Naruto could almost feel the blood pumping through his veins as they got closer to the admittedly small bandit camp. While sparring was good to keep in touch with your abilities and not get stagnant it was fundamentally different from a real fight, the actual chance of been critically injured or at worst dying was just different from the relative safety of a normal spar. He wasn't nervous more like excited.

Naruto didn't know what it said about him that the prospect of fighting and killing others excited him but he couldn't do much about it. He had taken a life once before and he didn't enjoy it in any way however fighting was just something that got to him.

To feel adrenaline pumping through your body, having to be careful with every move you make or pay for it. Maybe it was the possibility of facing a challenge that actually excited Naruto though there really wasn't any chance that simple bandits would be any kind of challenge for even a weak Genin. The ability to use chakra, no not even that, just having chakra unlocked alone gave one such a big advantage that it wasn't even a challenge anymore.

Unlocking chakra not only meant having access to it it also meant having your body constantly exposed to the energy. How exactly it worked Naruto didn't know however it was a fact that bodies exposed to chakra were much tougher then normally, and with that came increased strength and speed even without using chakra to consciously enhance those attributes.

Sure an untrained body exposed to chakra would still not be able to match a heavily trained body not exposed to chakra but the point was that it would still be close. The 'privilege', if you could call it that, of having chakra at your exposure was only reserved to those who chose to become Shinobi. In the end one could say that this 'privilege' was basically given to those the Hokage and by proxy the Daimyo deemed 'worthy'.

It was an arbitrary train of thought but Naruto didn't care anyway since he had committed to this life and wouldn't back down now. Unlike probably all of his peers he had at one point doubted his decision. However Naruto hadn't known and didn't know now either what else he should do. Even though his parents were dead he had grown up with the thought of becoming a Shinobi imprinted in his mind whether intentionally or unintentionally by the Sandaime. Thinking about it now Naruto believed that it was probably intentional manipulation on the Hokage's part but it really was a course of action Naruto understood and would he have been in the same situation would have also taken.

His lineage, tenant and innate talent concerning the Shinobi arts was something that could not be wasted on a civilian.

Coming out of his thoughts, he really did get lost in thought often nowadays, Naruto noticed that he and his team could already see the glow of the campfires and the sound of laughter coming from the camp. Waiting on the branches of two neighbouring trees Team 10 got ready for action.

Nodding towards each other the Genin moved silently while Yamato stayed back to support from further away. Naruto wasn't completely sure why their Sensei had decided to use this approach but he was confident that they wouldn't need his help anyways and saw no problem with it because of that. Stopping on branches closer to the camp but far enough away to not be seen by the bandits Naruto and his teammates readied their chosen form of attack.

Taking out the two Tanto he had started wearing in sheaths on his lower back Naruto got ready to jump into action. One glance was thrown towards his two teammates before Naruto dropped to the forest floor silently and commenced attacking.

With that last glance also spotted that Shikamaru had set his hands into the necessary signs for his families shadow jutsu while Yakumo started casting a low-level genjutsu.

Using jutsu in this category was out of the question for Naruto though. There was a time and a place for overwhelming your opponent, for annihilating your enemy in his or her entirety. In this case however they were fighting lowly bandits, normal humans with no access to chakra. This wasn't such a situation. In this case he believed you should only use what was necessary, just killing fast and efficiently.

In the end it wasn't his decision but he still didn't have to like it.

Breaking through the tree line one of Naruto's Tanto lodged itself into the skull of the bandit closest to him. Ripping it out while passing the falling body Naruto used the other Tanto to decapitate the bandit that had been standing next to the one that had already been downed.

Slowing his speed down slightly to gain better mobility Naruto decided one the left since he had entered at the middle of the camp and could already see bandits falling to the ground on the right.

Reaching one of two tents set up in the camp Naruto sliced open the side and stepped into the tent. Seeing a single bandit on one of the mats laying on the ground as a makeshift bed Naruto stepped towards the person and slit his throat before using the mans clothes to clean the blade. Now the first screams could be heard which meant one of the bandits had seen what was going on or Shikamaru and Yakumo were doing a poor job of being silent on their side.

Three sets of footsteps passed the tent he was in without noticing his presence so Naruto decided to get rid of everyone left on his side. Exiting the tent Naruto heard movement to his right. Turning in that direction Naruto spotted a single bandit that seemed to have just stood up from the mat under him.

Seeing the mans eyes focus on him Naruto reacted fast. Channelling the tiniest bit of chakra to enhance his speed Naruto appeared before the man and thrust one Tanto into the mans heart before using the other one to decapitate him. Pulling his weapons out of the corpse Naruto heard the heavy steps behind him. Spinning around Naruto spotted just what he had expected.

A heavy man with a bulky build was moving towards him with a axe in hand. The man lacked any kind of form and was probably more brawn then brain, so an easy opponent.

Sidestepping the downward swing of the bandit Naruto lodged off the arm used to swing the axe before penetrating the heart of the bandit from the left side passing through the ribcage without hitting any bones. Before Naruto had the time to pull out his two weapons a shout akin to a war cry alerted him to what was probably the last bandit on his side of the camp. Letting go of the Tanto in the dead man's side Naruto jumped back to create some distance.

Looking at the person before him carefully Naruto saw that this one while seemingly having less brawn and more brain then his dead comrade was still not the brightest one, the war cry had given as much away.

"So a little child thinks he can mess with us huh?" it was said in a condescending tone entirely out of place in this situation, it was however fast explained when Naruto noticed the slight slur in the voice of the man before him.

Naruto could spot the confident look in the bandits eyes even though he had probably seen atleast one of his comrades get easily beaten by the 'child' in front of him. The man wielded a simple straight sword of bad quality with barely more grace then the brute laying at his feet had his axe.

Not wanting to risk any kind of injury even though it was unlikely in the first place Naruto threw his Tanto at the man's face at a speed the man should be able to track. In the same moment Naruto moved behind the man with a chakra enhanced speed

The man not realising that his foe was now behind him ducked under the Tanto thrown his way before standing back up with a matching smirk to his tone of voice.

Before the man could open his mouth to gloat about the easily achieved dodge he felt hands at the back of his neck. The split-second before the snap of bones breaking could be heard the bandit realised that he had been entirely out of his league.

Letting the body fall to the ground Naruto collected his two Tanto before running towards the other side of the camp were the sounds of fighting could still be heard.

Jumping into the trees and not running through the camp where he would be easily spotted Naruto stopped on a branch overlooking the side of the camp he had left to Yakumo and Shikamaru. Spotting six bandits bound by Shikamaru's shadows and seeing Shikamaru easily holding them down Naruto turned his sight to the rest of the bandits. Two bandits who seemed dead were laying on the ground while two others were fighting each other which meant that one was probably stuck in genjutsu courtesy of Yakumo.

Seeing the only female of the Team behind one of the trees Naruto looked for the last missing bandits. They had gotten 18 signatures from the camp when they had scouted it and the chance of one of them sleeping through an attack was basically zero.

So two bandits unaccounted for.

The rustling of leaves below him alerted Naruto to the bandit that had seemingly been hiding in a bush for the whole time and was running towards Yakumo with a small knife in hand. Jumping into the air Naruto landed on the bandits shoulders.

* * *

Right now the bandit she was controlling was winning the fight if barely. Hearing the rustle of leaves from the left Yakumo turned to see a single bandit sprinting towards her and simply passing by the two fighting bandits.

Seeing the knife in his hand Yakumo froze up for the shortest moment which however was enough to break her control over the bandit in her genjutsu. Just when the bandit was getting close and she was getting ready to fight him with the Kunai she had held in her hand the whole time she saw her teammate landing on the bandit trying to attack her before with a thrust into the back of the bandit's skull he killed the man.

Stepping back to avoid the falling corpse Yakumo nodded towards Naruto in thanks.

* * *

Having dealt with the bandit attacking his teammate Naruto turned towards the two bandits who had stopped fighting each other after Yakumo's genjutsu had stopped. Seeing the two bandits still looking away from him Naruto once again threw his Tanto's at the heads of the clueless men.

Both blades found their stop in the skull of one bandit respectively.

Walking towards the two bodies laying face-first on the ground Naruto took his weapons of choice out of the corpses. Before flicking the blood off the blades.

He really should start using Kunai for this kind of thing since it would probably be a pain to clean the two blades afterwards.

So now there was only one bandit still missing.

Not detecting anybody in the immediate vicinity beside his two teammates and the six bandits still bound by shadows with his senses Naruto closed his eyes and touched the ground with his index and middle fingers. Sending out a pulse of chakra Naruto got a view of is surroundings at a much higher range. About 200 meters away there was chakra signature of a human, most likely the last bandit.

Deciding on a course of action Naruto turned towards his two teammates Naruto addressed them, "Get rid off the six Shikamaru is holding down. I'm gong to go and get the last one. Wait here for me until I come back or until Yamato-sensei arrives."

Not even waiting for a reply knowing that they had understood Naruto turned in the direction of the last bandit and began the chase by jumping into the trees while sheathing his two Tanto mid-jump.

For now he would focus on finishing this mission.

* * *

Not even 30 seconds later Naruto had caught up to the obviously frightened bandit. The man was visibly sweating and was running for his life while looking back every few seconds to check if he was being followed.

Deciding to not drag this on Naruto took aim with a Shuriken. He didn't really like using them since he though Kunai were much more effective but he had them anyways.

Throwing the little metal star and seeing it find it's mark in the back of the man's head Naruto jumped towards the corpse before pulling out the Shuriken and using one of the most basic Katon Jutsu to incinerate the body, so as to not leave behind any traces of what had happened.

Making his way back to the camp to meet with his team Naruto didn't know if he should be proud of himself or scared.

He was way too good at killing.

* * *

Team 10 had been on a couple more C-Rank Missions after their first one and Naruto was very pleased by this. Actual combat experience was one of the things he had been lacking a lot before but the first few missions really had helped with that since they had all involved fighting bandits in some way or another.

This time though there no prospect of any fighting but Naruto would even say that he was more happy about this mission then any other one he could have gotten. While officially ranked as C it really was only a simple delivery mission with no real danger involved. What made this mission important however was the place the documents were to be delivered to, the Capital.

Naruto had been there a bunch of times already and had rather enjoyed his time there. He had been allowed to accompany the Hokage when the man had been there to visit the Daimyo to discuss things not to be known by the public.

Since this mission was also a way to give political experience to Shikamaru and Yakumo because both of them were heirs it was the perfect mission for Team 10.

Experience while dealing with politics was important, especially if one couldn't fall back on the Elders or Advisers of the Clan like Naruto. While many thought all the nobles to be bratty and arrogant to some degree it really was quite different in reality.

The Daimyo of Fire Country was a prime example of that. Nakamura Hideki was a man who at first glance seemed like a pampered nobleman with only his own desires in his head an arrogance resulting of his status getting to his head, however upon further inspection the man was a cunning politician. His family had remained as the royal leaders of Hi no Kuni for a reason and that was probably it. That however didn't mean that there weren't any bratty and arrogant nobles.

Naruto had been asked to explain different aspects of the world of noblemen politics to his two teammates who couldn't fall back on any experience in that regard while in the Capital and that would be what he would do to the best of his abilities.

Political parties really had been a pain for Naruto. Since Tsunade had been the only known member of the Senju Clan for a while she had been representing the Clan on her one. The problem with that was that Tsunade didn't seem to care for politics in any way. Her reputation as an alcoholic and a gambler and her bad luck had made for a rather bad image that had reflected badly on the whole Clan.

Naruto as a new member of the Clan had now been forced to rectify that reputation that had been given to the Senju Clan while Tsunade had been the only member. And that meant he had to go to a bunch of banquets, balls or galas. Most of the time it was just a certain family showing off or trying to gain influence but Naruto had still been forced to attend.

This was also one of the reasons that Naruto had left the village multiple times already. Since most nobles were not Shinobi and owned there own land in Hi no Kuni or were living somewhere else entirely Naruto had needed to travel to different places to attend those parties.

The way from Konoha to the Capital didn't take very long when travelling at the speeds that Shinobi were capable of but it still took about three hours since Yakumo and Shikamaru weren't as fast yet and they had to slow down a bit because of it.

It wasn't an issue though, while the document they were delivering was important they had been given way more time then necessary to travel to the Capital. However Naruto believed that they would have bring back the response as well which would explain the two day time-window they had been given.

* * *

They had finally arrived at the entrance of the Capital. While it was named the Capital it was basically just the palace the Daimyo lived in and enough place to support all the people living inside the walls surrounding the property.

Since servants and such didn't live inside the palace external housing still inside the walls was provided for those working in the Capital. And then there was also the guard of the Daimyo which also had housing inside the walls which explained the immense size of the Capital.

The daimyo of Hi no Kuni was protected by a guard of Samurai who were supposed to be the best of the best that could be found. Samurai were actually not easy to fight even for a Shinobi especially those trained in Tetsu no Kuni or that was what Naruto had read atleast.

A while ago there had also been a group of 12 fighters picked to defend the Daimyo from enemies that Samurai couldn't protect him from.

The group had been disbanded though when internal fighting inside the group had lead to them fighting each other and only two surviving the event. Since then no new members had been appointed and the surviving members had gotten back to their former lives.

Naruto didn't know if there were any plans to revive the group and he wasn't sure if there was any reason to. Most of the time no one was dumb enough to attack a Daimyo directly since it would just lead to the next one stepping up. In this world that he had unwillingly become involved in things weren't solved like that.

On the contrary the people already in power were manipulated or whole families were 'controlled' through taking influence by for example getting a member of another family involved by using a political marriage.

Problems were solved in a much more subtle way and not through the hands-on approach that the Shinobi of today seemed to be so fond off.

Before entering through the gate Team 10 had to state their intention and business and give up all of their weapons. It was a normal procedure and it wasn't anything abnormal to be asked to lay down your weapons and it didn't really hurt them in any way. Shinobi didn't need a weapon to be dangerous or deadly.

After giving away all of their weapons they were granted access to the property and his two teammates seemed almost overwhelmed by the beauty of the place. On the left and right of the path leading to the palace wonderfully maintained gardens were kept with flowers of almost every kind decorating both sides. A bit farther away a small stream could be seen flowing through the garden part of the entrance portion of the Capital.

Where the path and the stream collided a bridge of what Naruto knew to be extremely expensive wood was placed to allow for a dry crossing. Different trees also decorated the two sides which was one of the things that made Naruto always appreciated coming to the Capital.

In the end it was beautiful scenery that while being very impressive didn't overwhelm the person seeing it with the implication of wealth since the garden wasn't kept as tightly controlled as others. Because of that the slightest feeling of freedom was given off which made the atmosphere of the place a lot lighter.

Walking along the path followed and lead by two Samurai in red armour with the Kanji for Fire decorating it respectively Naruto and the other members of Team 10 inspected their surroundings with an intensity different among all of them.

The most obvious was Yakumo. She wasn't used to a garden this beautiful and luxurious that still maintained that nature-ish feel. It was hard to describe which made it all the more interesting to Yakumo and also gave her the hope of having the chance to draw the garden if there was any time.

Shikamaru tried to be much more discreet in his observation which was only made easier by the fact that he was used to large places of nature since his family owned a big property with a forest on it to house the deer his Clan was known for.

Yamato didn't let any outward interest show at all which was only a testament to his incredibly professionalism and seriousness while on duty. But Naruto could just barely detect the interest in his Sensei's eyes when they crossed the wooden bridge which probably meant that his Sensei knew just what he was walking on.

Since Naruto was used to the sight already he didn't let anybody see his appreciation for the place though he hadn't been any better then Yakumo when he had first laid eyes on the place.

He had been much younger at the time and had just started his training outside the academy when he had visited the Capital the first time with the Hokage.

When they had finally passed through the garden and arrived at the entrance to the palace they were let in by the guards positioned at the gate once the Samurai accompanying them had made the situation known to his colleague.

Once inside the palace a similar expression entered his teammates faces compared to the one when first entering the Capital itself though magnified multiple times.

Naruto knew why aswell. His Clan and by proxy he himself were quite wealthy so much so that Naruto would probably never have to worry about earning money even though the life of a Shinobi wasn't cheap. Naruto had actually anticipated the treasure of the Senju Clan to be almost completely gone once he had heard of Tsunade's habits but had been positively surprised to find out the opposite.

It seemed like his second cousin had only used her own money and not the money of her Clan to finance her, in Naruto's opinion, excessive bad habits.

Still his wealth didn't even come close to comparing to the wealth of Daimyo and even if it did he would never show it off the way the leader of Hi no Kuni did.

The whole place basically screamed expensive when one looked at it but still somehow accomplish it to look composed in it's lavish nature. Naruto could best describe it in one way.

The palace made everyone looking at it feel insecure about themselves and somewhat inferior while not completely showing arrogance. Naruto still wasn't sure how exactly it was done but he was still impressed by it.

Snapping his fellow Genin out of their starring by starting to walk forward Naruto addressed his Team, "I know how you feel and I felt the same way when I was here the first time but it is generally not a good idea to show any of those feelings while talking with the owner of the place you are in. While in talks or something similar at another persons residence try to remain composed and not show appreciation or anything of the sort too openly. That kind of behaviour will only make you seem easy to influence or overwhelm."

While advising his two peers Naruto simply kept walking and spared the expensive and certainly beautiful pieces of art or items on display no mind. He had seen them before and he wasn't here to look at them and he also hoped his teammates would follow his example.

Walking through the palace Team 10 passed different people from maids to servant to guards patrolling the palace.

While Naruto knew some of the people they passed he refrained from greeting them for now since he had come to the Capital for a reason.

It took almost five minutes to reach the entrance to the Daimyo's throne room. Really, normally a matter such as this would simply be settled by an advisor or someone similar but Naruto would almost bet that the Sandaime had let slip that he was on the Team for this Mission and because of some reason the Daimyo seemed to have taken a liking a to him so of course they would directly meet the Daimyo.

Naruto didn't let the irritation he was feeling at the moment show on his face though. Stopping in front of the doors Naruto addressed his Team once again, "Leave the talking to me and if you are asked to say anything respond shortly and respectfully but not overly so. Try to keep conversation to a minimum for now. I will introduce you all and you will greet him after I have done so."

Finishing his advise Naruto nodded at one of the guards next to the door as a signal to open the door.

When the door opened the room behind them was revealed and the members of Team 10 beside Naruto who had seen this before were not disappointed.

The trend that had been set with the decoration of the rest of the palace was continued in the room presented to them now. A room finely decorated with only the best of materials was shown it stretched on for about 80 feet and the throne giving the room it's name was situated at the very back. The ground had a designated path towards the throne that was coloured in a rather royal looking vermillion colour.

The throne itself was actually designed rather simply however it was still decorated with different precious metals and jewels in different colours. It was also positioned on a elevated platform.

In front of that platform four Samurai were standing at attention, ready to protect their Lord.

Naruto also knew that next to the entrance two Samurai were also waiting on the inside of the room though those two weren't immediately visible since pillars hid them from view.

The light in the room was provided openings higher up on the sides with now glass windows in them. Initially Naruto had thought those to be a big security risk but he had found out that there were countermeasures in place should someone try that approach.

Steeping into the room ahead of his team Naruto spotted the slightest of smiles tucking at the Daimyo's lips which probably confirmed his theory. 'Seriously, those old men act like little children sometimes.' was the thought Naruto allowed himself only in the confines of his mind. Speaking that out loud would be a bad idea even for him.

When Team 10 was standing in front of the steps leading up the platform that the throne was placed on Naruto bowed while greeting the man before him how he had been asked to do, "Thank you for allowing us to enter your halls Nakamura-dono. It is a pleasure to be here. These are the members of Team 10 the Team I have been assigned to, Kurama Yakumo heir to the Yakumo Clan," which was followed by bow and a small "Daimyo-sama" from her, "Nara Shikamaru, heir to the Nara Clan," also followed by a bow and a greeting from Shikamaru lacking his usual laziness, "and Yamato-sensei the Jonin assigned to teach all of us." Yamato also followed with a respected full and deep bow just like his students had done and greeted the leader of Hi no Kuni in the same fashion.

"I would also like to deliver a greeting from Sandaime-sama who says that he is looking forward to the next meeting between the two of you." with the greetings finished Naruto thought he had once again seen the slightest of smiles on the Daimyo's lips but he could just be imagining it.

"So Naruto-san what is it that brings you here today?" said the Daimyo still sitting in his throne and conveying nothing but an image of nobility.

"We were tasked with delivering a document to the Capital and were shown here by the guards, what the document contains I do not know." saying this Naruto reached into his Kimono and took out the scroll they had been given by the Hokage. It was a simple scroll decorated only with the Kanji for Fire and nothing else. When Naruto presented the scroll one of the Samurai stepped towards him and accepted the scroll before walking up the stairs and handing it to his Lord.

Opening the scroll the Daimyo started reading while the Samurai returned to his post and Naruto and the other members of Team 10 simply waited for further instruction.

After a good five minutes of reading, though Naruto was sure the old men could have read through the full scroll in under two, the Daimyo closed the scroll before adopting a thinking expression.

Another two minutes later the leader of Hi no kuni addressed the Team still standing in his throne room.

"I will have an answer prepared by tomorrow so I ask that you wait until that time to start your trip back to Konoha. Accommodations have been prepared to allow your stay in the Capital for the night and you will be lead there shortly." with that said one of the Samurai standing by the door came up to Naruto and his Team and lead them out of the room.

* * *

After they had been shown to their rooms Team 10 met up in the room given to Yamato to discuss how exactly they would proceed.

"Since we won't be travelling back to Konoha today you are free to do whatever it is you want but be careful who you speak with and how you speak with them. As soon as we get the scroll with the response I want you to get ready to depart. I want to be back in Konoha soon so that tomorrow won't be wasted in terms of training or Missions." with his piece said Yamato closed his mouth.

"Since we have the time I want you two, Yakumo and Shikamaru to tell me what you think Nakamura-dono used to influence us in the slightest of ways." Naruto thought that it was a good idea to have them see how the different ways of manipulation looked when used in action.

"I'm not sure but he was very nice to us?" the idea was presented in a questioning tone which made it seem more like a guess then anything else. However Yakumo still had a point.

"You are right, if you observe exactly how he spoke you will see that his sentences are phrased as requests as you would expect them between comrades or friends which makes the recipient more likely to agree. However don't mistake that for the sentences actually being just a request, simply refusing can be severely punished should Nakamura-dono wish it." finishing his explanation Naruto looked expectantly at his teammates.

"He didn't look like a figure of authority but more like a grandfather, it's almost like Hokage-sama." Shikamaru, who had positioned himself on the futon in the room, uttered what almost seemed like someone thinking out loud.

"You are right Sandaime-sama and Nakamura-dono both use a grandfatherly image to appear less threatening and to lure their counterpart into a false sense of security. It leads to them being underestimated or seen as weak which can give them an advantage." when Naruto had come up with the theory and had asked the Sandaime about it the Hokage had started to explain some things about politics to him, though he hadn't understood all of it at the time.

"Also, though this doesn't apply much in this case, we were in 'foreign' territory. Familiar territory leads to confidence and sense of safety while foreign territory can lead to uneasiness and being unsure. It's why we Shinobi should always get acquainted with our surroundings before a fight if possible. It's not much but it can help."

"There are some other things that could be used in such a situation but it's enough for now." with this Naruto left his teammates in the room and started roaming the Capital grounds.

* * *

Naruto was actually surprised that he hadn't met her yet. Normally she would be one of the first people to greet him when he visited the Capital. She could simply be away on a trip or something though.

Wandering through the vast gardens stretching much farther then what they had seen when they had entered the Capital as a Team Naruto admired the beauty of the Nature surrounding him.

Walking through he expenses of the garden gave Naruto some time to think about things. Naruto knew of the Chunin Exams that would be held in Konoha very soon and he was pretty sure that he and his teammates were ready for it. In the end it would be very nice to join since Naruto was sure that Gai, Neji's Sensei, would be enrolling Team 9 in this year since he hadn't done so the last time he had a chance.

Naruto wasn't sure about the other Rookie Teams though. Since all of the Teams were occupied with training and Missions Naruto didn't really have the time to check on everyone of his peers. However he did check on Itachi's brother frequently with a Shadow Clone to observe how the boy was doing.

It was the only interaction Naruto had with any of his peers beside Neji, sometimes Choji when he visited Shikamaru and his own Team since he hadn't known the others well enough to call them his friends.

Naruto was also rather curious how exactly the Chunin Exam would go this time around. While most of the time they were split in three parts one being a written exam, the second being some kind of survival exercise and the third being tournament style fights how exactly those parts were designed was up to the village hosting the event.

In the end Naruto could do nothing but prepare himself for any situation and try his best to gain a promotion since that would bring him one step closer to his goal. Being admitted into ANBU wasn't easy but theoretically everyone of Rank Chunin or higher could try.

Just when Naruto started imagining possible tasks that he would need to do to be accepted into ANBU he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Turning around Naruto spotted the reason that he had rather liked the idea of going to the Capital.

"It has been a while Nakamura-sama." it was said in a respectful tone and was accompanied with a bow though one could detect the slightest up-turn of Naruto's lips just before he bowed.

"How often do I have to tell you to stop calling me that Naruto-kun?" said the girl opposite of him.

"Whatever do you mean Nakamura-sama I am simply giving you the respect you deserve as the daughter of Nakamura-dono and do not think me worthy of addressing you with the familiarity you ask of me so frequently." now Naruto had to actually try to keep his expression in check since his statement was simply met with a exasperated huff from the girl he was talking to.

Nakamura Kasumi had never liked when Naruto addressed her with such formality. While she was aware of her position on social standing she was also aware just where he stood in the great scheme of things. Heir to the Senju Clan certainly qualified as someone of high standing.

"It's nice to see you too, Kasumi." this time a rare and small smile was seen on his face and the slightest bit of happiness was allowed to seep into his normally so indifferent and cold eyes.

Picking up on the Senju heir's change in expression Kasumi also graced him with a smile though one not as reserved as Naruto's.

Naruto had always liked Kasumi better when she was smiling. Their world wasn't one with many reasons to smile so Naruto believed that he had to cherish those smiles of hers he could see all the more. Walking towards her while she also started getting closer to him Naruto looked at her more closely.

Her ebony tresses had grown longer and now reached her waist in length though they still retained that slight waviness to them. She had also grown since he had last seen her. It had been almost two years now since he had last been to the Capital because he hadn't been able to accompany the Sandaime to the last meeting with the Daimyo.

While still not as tall as him, though he was rather tall for his age with about 5 foot 3 inches, Kasumi seemed to have grown to about 4 foot 8 inches during the time he hadn't seen her. Her eyes had remained the same though.

Those sapphire eyes so similar and yet so different from his own were as captivating as ever. While his were cold and harsh like the Ice he used hers were much warmer and brighter.

That spark of life and happiness that he had denied himself with the decision of becoming a Shinobi was present in her eyes and Naruto would do his best to keep it there. If he could protect nothing else during his life as a Shinobi he would at the very least protect that spark in any way he could.

As the two met in a hug to convey to each other how much they missed the other Naruto thought that that spark was more precious to him then anything else. It was something that could never be returned once it was lost and Naruto would wish for Kasumi to never lose it in the first place.

If that was possible though he wasn't sure.

* * *

 **Sorry, everybody that it took so long but it's finally down. The next chapter is finished and I'm rather happy with it. I would really appreciate if you guys could tell me how I did in the fighting/killing scene so that I can improve if possible.**

 **I have also decided to make some things clear since there seems to be a bit of confusion about some aspects of the story.  
**

 **Naruto does not have whisker marks - I didn't agree with their existince in Canon because the explanation for it made no sense so he won't have them expect for the situations in which he uses Kyuubi Chakra.**

 **Naruto does not have Foxes as summons - I thought i had made it clear enough with my wording but someone still didn't seem to get it. The fox in the last chapter was a Kage Bunshin using the Henge (which in Naruto's case actually transforms)**

 **Naruto is not wearing his Hitai-ate - Don't actually know why I decided this but if anybody has a problem with it just imagine him with one. I never understood why Shinobi would so openly state their affiliation. Just makes no sense for example in a Infiltration.**

 **And finally concerning the pairing - Since I myself am often interested in the pairing I have decided to talk about this. There will definetly not be a Harem in this story, I may do that in another story later on but not in this one. Who exactly the lucky woman will be? I'm not entirely sure yet but I think this chapter made it clear what my current preference is. However nothing is set in stone yet and if anybody can give me a good enough reasoning for another pairing I may change the final pairing. Kasumi btw is entirely made up by me, just like the Daimyo's name and the fact that Tora's owner is not the Daimyo's wife. Those were things I either chose to change because I didn't get why they were the way they were in Canon or I created them because I didn't think that the woman in Naruto currently eligible for a relationship with Naruto could be changed in such a way that I would like my own story afterwards. Probably has to do with the fact that I dislike most of the females that get enough screen-time to develop character since those mostly suck in my opinion and the others are simply there and not develped enough. It's really a general issue with female characters in Naruto...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Naruto of the true Ice**

 _Killing intent and Chakra Pressure_

 _First off the difference between Killing Intent and Chakra pressure has to be made clear._

 _While Chakra Pressure is simply the pressure that Chakra exerts on it's surroundings if it is present in large quantities in a small location Killing Intent is much more._

 _When using Killing Intent the user projects their own feelings, in this case their willingness and intent to kill, with their Chakra on the people in the vicinity. One thing that both of these techniques have in common is that Shinobi gifted with sensory abilities are affected by them to higher degree since those individuals are more in-touch with their surroundings and especially the Chakra of others surrounding them._

 _While simply letting your own Chakra run rampant in a certain distance around the body creates Chakra Pressure when a high enough amount of Chakra is present, Killer Intent isn't dependent on the amount of Chakra to such a degree._

 _Since the own mind and the own Chakra are connected projecting ones feelings isn't a hard practice to learn. However exclusively projecting certain feelings needs training. This is one of the reasons that Killer Intent is mostly used by more experienced Shinobi. Another reason for it being that projecting your own Chakra outwards in the way that Killer Intent requires still takes good control and a mediocre chakra supply to be achieved. Should inexperienced Genin attempt to create either Killing Intent or Chakra Pressure they may inflict themselves wit Chakra Exhaustion very fast since the body needs, while small amounts, some chakra to support the functions required for surviving and the Chakra that is projected outwards is not available for use in that moment._

 _Both Chakra Pressure and Killer Intent can in theory kill an enemy, this however requires a high amount of control and Chakra to achieve, since the pressure exerted by Chakra can only be lethal in extreme amounts and the feelings transmitted through Killer Intent need to carry a certain strength to amount to any permanent damage not of psychological nature._

 _Killing in this way would at best be a waste of Chakra since it requires more chakra and effort then basically every other way available._

* * *

Naruto hadn't at all been surprised when Yamato-sensei had told them that they would be taking part in the Chunin Exams soon taking place in Konoha. It hadn't surprised him to find out that Neji's Team had been admitted either. To know that Team 7 and 8 would also take part though had been unexpected.

Since they had not gone on anymore C-Rank Missions in the last two weeks Naruto had taken the opportunity to find out how his peers were progressing in their training. To say that Naruto had been underwhelmed would be an understatement.

Team 7's teamwork was horrendous. The Inuzuka and Uchiha got into spats all the time about the smallest of issues and Haruno wasn't helping the matter any with her worship attitude towards Itachi's brother.

Kakashi didn't seem to care enough to do anything against it and simply drilled them with D-Ranks and Teamwork exercises day-in and day-out.

Team 8 was at the very least a little better. Since Ino and Choji already knew each other from their childhoods they worked together surprisingly well and Shino being a Aburame simply did what he could to help strengthen the Team.

While their teamwork was way better then Team 7's their individual skills were a bit lacking atleast when it came to Choji and Ino. Shino seemed capable enough and held back in spars with his Team as far as Naruto could see.

Choji on the other hand had seemingly gotten some of Shikamaru's laziness and wasn't inclined to do much training on his own which was very similar to Ino. The girl still had fangirlish tendencies that would have been beaten out of her if she would have been taught by the people he had gotten lessons from.

She still cared too much for her looks and not enough for her skills and abilities. While she was adapt at the academy taijutsu and Naruto believed she was able to use the basic Yamanaka **Shi** **n** **tenshin no Jutsu** she was probably not as good as one could be at it.

That had been something common among both teams with possibly the exception of Shino. His comrades tended to learn new things but not master them. Thankfully neither Shikamaru nor Yakumo were given the chance to do that since both Yamato-sensei and he himself insisted that new techniques be mastered.

Well in the end it wasn't his call to make which teams were admitted into the Chunin Exams. If their Sensei's believed them to be capable enough then that was fine with Naruto as long as that was a substantiated belief that is.

Even though this was often overlooked when talking about the Chunin Exam the fact was that people died in those Exams every time. If there wouldn't be any casualties Naruto would seriously doubt the legitimacy of the presented results. The consideration normally accompanying choices over life and death had been lost in this instance because the Chunin Exams were more then just a Exam to earn a promotion. They were used to show-off and make money. The village hosting the Chunin Exam could expect better business because of it. Since many people came just to see the Chunin Exams and very often used the opportunity to buy things a lot of money was made during those events. The deaths mostly didn't happen during the parts seen by the public since that would be bad for business. And because of this the Chunin Exams weren't immediately associated with the death of many Genin.

It had been a thought Naruto had been pondering for a while. The people watching the fights in the Chunin Exams, be they noble or not came for entertainment. However when death, a fundamental part of Shinobi life got involved, they didn't want to be associated. It was rather sad that this was probably all a consequence of Shinobi being to close to the public. Children, especially those directly living in the villages dreamed about becoming a Shinobi to be a hero.

The reality didn't hit them until the time of their first kill came. It was necessary though and Naruto knew that. It was a way to attract new recruits. Since Shinobi weren't expected to reach age 40 even in times of relative peace Shinobi villages were always desperate to attract new recruits. Because of this Shinobi paraded their abilities around and were advertised as heroes even though there were everything but that.

Naruto wasn't sure what he should think about that. On the one hand it was actually a very Shinobi-like thing to do, deceiving others to make them join your side using any means necessary. On the other hand it was somewhat disgraceful even a person with a twisted view of the world like Naruto could see that.

Those children didn't know what they were in for when they were assigned to the academy and the number of fatalities especially among civilian born Genin every year was very high. The academy simply did not prepare them well enough as it was. When they finally realized the truth of the situation it was already too late. A Shinobi couldn't simply resign whenever they wanted. They swore loyalty to the Hokage and Daimyo and it was their task to follow the orders of those people.

Sure there were a select few among the Shinobi who might even get the chance to resign but all of those were recognized because of incredible talent or because of their blood. A Shinobi that was part of an important and influential Clan in Konoha may have the chance to resign but a civilian didn't. Their only options were death, inability leading to removal from the active forces or treason in the form of desertion.

Being aware of this and still not being able to care enough to do anything about it was what Naruto believed to be his biggest problem. He himself would never face these problems because he was one of the 'privileged' few. Born to a prestigious Clan with talent to boot Naruto was in no position to complain and since he wasn't affected and he knew no one who was close to him that was Naruto was simply to detached from the issue.

Wandering through Konoha those were Naruto's thoughts. Since the Chunin Exams would start in two days Yamato-sensei had told them to relax for until they started and not to do any heavy training and Naruto was going to heed that advice.

Since Neji was currently busy with the Hyuuga Clan he couldn't even talk to him and the Nara compound was off limits for Naruto since he had decided to not bother his teammates for those two days. Should there be any hesitation it could get even worse if he meddled in their affairs and Naruto didn't want to take the risk.

So he was left wandering through Konoha. It wasn't necessarily bad since Konoha was a rather beautiful village but it still was rather boring. There was just nothing to do beside possibly shopping but Naruto wasn't in need of anything so that was out aswell.

Spotting two mops of brown hair and one head of orange hair done in pigtails Naruto toyed with the idea of running away and hiding like a coward, it would be worth any kind of humiliation anyway, but decided on staying since the three kids would probably be able to give him something to do.

Walking in the same direction Naruto waited until the three noticed him, not being too keen on showing his boredom by actively seeking them out. After a short bit Konohamaru seemed to have taken notice of him since the three were now noticeably moving in his direction and they certainly weren't being quiet about having seen him, or atleast Konohamaru wasn't.

With a shout of "Hey, wait up Naruto-niisan!" the boy started running towards him his two friends in tow. Why the grandson of the Sandaime insisted on calling him that he would never know. He had tried countless times to make the boy stop his use of the honorific but the boy would not be swayed.

Waiting until the three had arrived in front of him Naruto looked at Konohamaru expectantly. The boy almost seemed like he had been searching for him and the satisfied grin that now graced his face also supported that theory.

"I finally found you Naruto-niisan. I challenge you to duel right at this very moment!" Konohamaru was clearly completely normal if his loud voice and overconfident challenge were anything to go by. Though that didn't mean that Konohamaru challenging irritated Naruto any less. The boy had some how got into his head that beating Naruto, as impossible as that was for him, would bring his closer to becoming Hokage. Naruto had turned him down every time he had asked for any kind of challenge though.

"I think I have told this often enough Konohamaru but you cannot beat me even if you wish it to be that way. There is no use in us fighting. Not to mention the fact that beating me holds no value concerning your dream." though Naruto was bored just doing senseless things out of boredom was still out of the question.

While Konohamaru seemed to visibly deflate for but a moment he quickly returned to his former mood. "That doesn't matter I will not give up until I have beaten you."

Deciding to hear what exactly Konohamaru had in mind Naruto answered, "So what kind of challenge or competition is it that you propose?" while said in an indifferent tone Naruto was actually curious what the Hokage's grandson believes to be challenge he can beat him in.

"We will race! But without using chakra." Naruto had been about to roll his eyes at Konohamaru for the suggestion when the boy added the second part. While it would not even be close if Naruto actually tried it would take some time and might help him in toning down his strength.

He went overboard in spars with Yakumo or Shikamaru during team practice sometimes since it wasn't easy to continuously restrict yourself to a certain degree. It didn't help his teammates if they were just beaten without having had the chance to fight back. However there was still some things Naruto had to ask.

"Before I agree I would like to know why the three of you are not in the academy or with any kind of supervision." while Naruto didn't actually care why the three of them were here right now he was just the tiniest bit curious.

"Weeeeell, there is a good reason that we are here right now I swear!" while saying this Konohamaru looked visibly uncomfortable and was scratching the back of his head seemingly in embarrassment.

"And that reason would be what?" Naruto's tone could almost be described as deadpan if his usual tone wouldn't have been as indifferent neutral already, however the slightest of differences was noticeable.

"Ehhhh, you know it's a really funny story, you see Iruka-sensei was giving a lecture and it was really boring since it was about history so when we had a break we kind of left the academy since Iruka-sensei said that we would go on with the same topic after the break hahaha…." the laugh at the end was so obviously faked that Naruto was almost impressed if there wasn't the fact that Konohamaru seemed to once again be avoiding class. Usually when this happened their teacher Umino-san would be quick to react and look for them but the young man didn't seem to have noticed yet.

Maybe the break they had been given hadn't ended yet?

In the end it didn't really matter to Naruto how Konohamaru and his two friends chose to spend their time at the academy. Since Konohamaru was still visibly embarrassed and his two friends sported small blushes because of the reason they were skipping classes the boy hadn't gotten back to the original topic at hand. While Naruto could have reminded the three of the race that Konohamaru had originally wanted to staged he saw no reason to.

Maybe he could avoid this silly challenge if he kept quiet?

Just when Konohamaru looked like he wanted to open his mouth to say something another voice spoke up.

"Are you Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon?" the person was obviously young and feminine, so a girl about Naruto's age.

Looking at the person in his peripheral vision Naruto tried to recall the name behind the pink hair and the almost offensive red dress, Haruno Saku-something.

Hearing their names the three young children turned towards the person that had addressed them. Before they could say anything though Naruto answered for them.

"They are in fact the ones you seem to be searching for Haruno-san." the silent accusation of betrayal found in the look Konohamaru was sending him didn't bother Naruto at all.

"Senju-san? I didn't see you there, anyways Iruka-sensei told me to bring you three back to the academy if I happen to find you so you three should follow me now."

While still nice and polite the slightest bit of irritation was picked up on by Naruto when the girl spoke. Maybe it was the fact that she was asked to search for a bunch of run-away brats?

Hearing the explanation from the older girl in front of them Konohamaru and his two friends weren't to keen on complying though. Seemingly making a fast on-the-spot decision Konohamaru abandoned his two friends and made a run for it as fast as he could. The other two seeing their friend running along tried to quickly follow his example but before they could start running Haruno-san had already gotten a grip on them.

Seeing the inevitable outcome of the situation the two didn't make any effort to escape and simply complied and walked towards the academy after Haruno-san had looked at them with a somewhat scary look and told them to do so.

Immediately after that Sakura started running after Konohamaru to catch him as soon as possible.

While Naruto had no intention of helping Haruno-san or Konohamaru there was the possibility that this would turn enjoyable to a certain degree so Naruto chose to follow the two using the rooftops, a method of transportation that Haruno-san had seemingly forgotten about.

After about 2 minutes of watching the two run around Konoha Naruto saw Konohamaru take a corner before the sound of two people colliding could be heard even from the distance that Naruto was at. Moments later Haruno-san also turned the corner but immediately stopped running.

Debating whether or not to jump down and look what is happening Naruto heard the voice of a third unknown person.

"That hurt, brat." the person was obviously male and Naruto estimated him to be about his age maybe a little older.

Sounds of discomfort were coming from Konohamaru so Naruto decided to actually go there and find out what was happening. Honestly he sometimes felt like a bodyguard for the little brat.

"Just stop it, we are only going to get scolded for this later." this person was obviously female and was probably of similar age as her companion.

"What do you think you are doing?!" the shrill voice of Haruno-san wasn't something Naruto enjoyed hearing more then necessary, honestly his ears were sensitive.

"Teaching this little punk a lesson so get lost little girl." the male spoke again. Positioning himself in one of the shadows at the corner of the entrance Naruto wasn't easily visible but could finally see what was actually going on. The male person was holding Konohamaru up with his scarf while Konohamaru was squirming in his grip trying to get it to loosen. Behind the male in black a blonde girl in a white combat dress was standing while looking just the slightest bit impatient and annoyed.

"I'm not going to be responsible for what you do, you are going to have to get out of whatever mess you will get into alone." the girl seemed not to care at all about what was going to happen as long as she wouldn't be affected by the aftermath of this incident.

"Yeah yeah, I'm just going to beat this little brat up a bit." the boy answered in a disinterested fashion. Now Naruto wouldn't have cared if Konohamaru was getting beaten up for an actual reason, maybe that way the boy would learn some restraint and respect but he would have to put a stop to it this time since those two were Shinobi of Suna and it would just look bad for Konoha if the current Hokage's grandson got beaten up by Shinobi visiting the village for the Chunin Exams.

Before Naruto had to take any action Haruno-san opened her mouth. Hearing her starting to say something Naruto almost sighed in relief because he wouldn't have to get involved before internally groaning when she finished her sentence.

"Wait you can't just beat up a citizen of Konoha, since you are foreign Shinobi trespassing onto Konoha territory I will now take you to a superior so that you can be punished accordingly." while saying this the pink haired girl looked way to sure of herself and assumed a joke of a taijutsu stance. While it was completely correct when one would look at the katas she wouldn't stand a chance against any normal Genin, and not the two before her.

While Naruto couldn't be too sure about their strength their chakra levels and mannerisms spoke of both ability and experience. Those two weren't normal Genin and the third person hiding in a nearby tree wasn't normal by any definition of the word.

While Naruto was thinking about the current situation the two Shinobi from Suna were busy reacting to Haruno-san's statement. The girl had started laughing when Haruno-san finished speaking but now she was only looking at the taijutsu stance assumed against her and her partner like she was offended by it. The boy was still holding Konohamaru but had started laughing much more uproariously then his female partner once the 'order' had been given. Right now he was still ignoring the kicks that Konohamaru had started using shortly after realizing that he wouldn't escape by simply squirming and was trying to quiet the chuckles that his laughter had dissolved into.

Naruto simply couldn't let the situation go on any further. While his personal pride didn't matter to him much he couldn't let foreign Shinobi think that Konoha Shinobi, even if they were only Genin, were this useless.

"Haruno-san are you ignorant or just stupid?" Naruto said while leaving the shadow he had been standing in and walking towards the other people standing in the otherwise abandoned street.

All four people abruptly turned their attention to him and while the Kunoichi from Suna could somewhat mask her surprise of someone else being there the other three failed at that in different degrees.

Haruno-san seemed to have completely forgotten that he had been there when she had started chasing Konohamaru and because of this had not even considered the possibility that he could interfere. When he had finished speaking a spark of anger and defiance entered her eyes before Naruto shot her a look to make her stay silent.

Naruto hadn't expected Konohamaru to be focused enough to even consider different possibilities but the relieved smile on his face now that he had spotted him made a small part of Naruto regret his decision to intervene. However that part of him was ruthlessly crushed as soon as it appeared. While it may have ended enjoyable to him that would never be worth it, he had a duty to fulfill after all.

Walking towards the three Shinobi until he was standing almost next to Haruno-san Naruto addressed the male one from Suna that was still holding up Konohamaru but looked much more cautious then moments ago.

"If I were you I wouldn't do what you were about to do. The person you are holding up there is the Sandaime's grandson and I would probably be correct in guessing that even if you are here for the Chunin Exams the Hokage would find a way to punish you severely. Attacking a Kage or their family is considered a crime after all and the punishment on it is entirely dependent on the mercy of the Kage in question." while saying this Naruto made very clear with his behavior that he was serious about this. While the little brat might not like being called the grandson of the Sandaime it was his status and that meant that no matter what he thought he was worth more when it came to politics.

Hearing this the girl turned towards her partner before looking at him with a withering glare. The boy seemed to visibly shrink at that before dropping Konohamaru who after scrambling to his feet immediately ran towards Naruto and hid behind him.

"Since nothing actually happened I don't think either of us will have to talk of this incident in any way so with that sorted out I wish all three of you a good time in a Konoha and luck in the Chunin Exams." directly after saying this Naruto turned around before starting to walk away.

Haruno-san and the two Suna Shinobi seemed frozen in place for a bit while Konohamaru was audibly trying to catch up to his longer strides. Before Naruto could turn the corner to leave towards the Senju compound a gravely male voice spoke up, most likely the third one that had been hiding in the tree.

"What is your name?"

Turning around Naruto regarded the red-haired boy now standing in front of his two comrades. The boy was carrying a big gourd on his back and if Naruto was right about the boys identity which was very likely it was filled with sand. The two behind him seemed both surprised by the boys appearance and slightly afraid of the boy himself.

"Normally it is common courtesy to give your own name before asking for the name of another." was Naruto's only reply. It wasn't like he wouldn't give out his own name since it would be known to them when the Chunin Exams started at the latest but this way Naruto could make sure to get the others name beforehand.

"Subaku no Gaara." was the simple reply in that same gravely voice.

"Senju Naruto, pleased to make your aquaintance. I hope that I will see you in the Chunin Exams. Until then have a good day." with this Naruto turned around and left but not before hearing the red-head mutter something.

"Mother wants his blood, but says to stay cautious..." what that exactly meant Naruto didn't know but it gave a bad feeling to him.

* * *

Arriving at the Academy like he had been told to Naruto looked around to see if anybody else was already here. Spotting the pineapple-shaped black hair of his teammate Naruto walked towards Shikamaru.

Nodding towards the Nara in greeting Naruto positioned himself next to his teammate to wait for their female comrade.

About five minutes later the brown hair of Yakumo came into sight. Raising his hand to make her aware of their position Naruto waited for the girl to come towards them.

When Yakumo arrived at their position Naruto addressed his two teammates, "You two are sure about this?", he had never been a person of many words.

After looking at the other for a moment both of them gave him a slight nod that while slight was filled with conviction and a quiet confidence in their abilities.

Seeing this the corner of Naruto's mouth turned up slightly. If that was the case they could do this, as a Team. Yamato-sensei and Hokage-sama had already told him what he could show and what should be kept secret regarding his abilities. While even with all the restrictions in place he was still stronger then a Genin it did mean that he would have to be more careful.

However some situations in which Naruto was allowed to use his full abilities had been defined, though Naruto hoped it wouldn't come to that. There actually shouldn't be any way that a situation forcing Naruto to go all-out could arise.

Looking at the sun to estimate the current time Naruto decided that it was soon enough to enter the academy and wait for the Exam to start inside. Motioning for his team to follow Naruto entered the Academy before getting told the number of the room they were to enter by a Chunin positioned behind the entrance.

Walking up two flights of stairs Naruto spotted a group of Genin about their age standing before a door blocked by two different 'Genin'. The Henge used to cloak the two Chunin and the genjutsu applied to the sign above the door were pathetic at best and it made Naruto slightly despair innerly when he realized that all the Genin in front of the door were falling for it.

Motioning for his team to be quiet and just follow they passed the group of Genin in the wide hallway and were about to go up the last flight of stairs before a voice louder then the muttering that had been constant before could be heard from in front the door.

"Just drop the genjutsu you are not fooling anyone with such a weak attempt." the arrogant tone that the Itachi's brother used while saying that didn't sit well with Naruto at all but he ignored it and just went towards the designated room.

It wasn't his problem that Sasuke may have just doomed a couple of Genin to die in the next parts of the Chunin Exam because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. Well, maybe it was but only if those Genin came from Konoha.

Walking towards the room they were told to wait in Naruto didn't see anybody else he could however feel some people already in the room. Opening the door Naruto took in the different occupants of the room without slowing in his walking.

All of the people already there were Genin so Naruto didn't think that any instructors would enter before the whole Exam would start. Nine Genin were already in the room among them the Team from Suna he had already met and another Team from Konoha. The third Team hailed from Kumo.

While Kumo just like Iwa didn't have the best of relationships with Konoha at the moment both villagers were allowed to send Genin to participate in the Exam.

While Naruto hadn't thought that Kumo would be participating he could imagine why a Team was sent. Kumo being the most militaristic of the Big 5 was always looking out to gain information on potential up and coming Shinobi in the other villages. Since his status as a Senju was public knowledge and Kumo had gone to great lengths to exterminate the Senju Clan as much as possible during the First and Second Great Shinobi Wars it was only natural that a new Senju being known to everyone would attract attention and warrant information-gathering.

It was actually probable that the Team from Kumo wasn't here to win or achieve anything at all besides gathering information.

One after another the other Teams entered the room before about 20 Teams were inside. There were still about ten minutes until the Exam was to start so the different Teams hailing from the same village were conversing with each other.

Team 10 was positioned in one of the corners of the room next to the window-side and weren't conversing with any other Team. Naruto himself had inspected every person that had entered the room as good as he was able to so that he had a broad estimate of their strength and the danger they presented. The Teams not assigned to this room that were participating in the Exam were unknown to Naruto so he would have to look out for them in the Second Part.

One of the last Teams to enter the room was actually Team 7 even though they had been in the academy for a while beforehand. Kiba in all his brash nature had immediately greeted Team 8 whose members had stood closer to the door. The two Teams had either not noticed them yet or just hadn't bothered to show that they had, Naruto was inclined to believe the former.

One of the older participants a guy in purple pants and shirt that was wearing glasses and a Konoha hitai-ate went towards the group made up of Teams 7 and 10.

While the person was from Konoha judging by the hitai-ate and had a rather friendly expression on his face Naruto wasn't convinced. The guy's smile was just a tad to friendly and Naruto didn't actually believe that anybody would still bother to try after failing the Chunin Exams six times.

When this Yakushi Kabuto as he had introduced himself to the group brandished a couple of cards that he claimed held information on all the people participating in the Exam Naruto got suspicious. When Sasuke asked for the strongest people in the Exam and information on them Naruto became annoyed.

When the guy mentioned his name just a bit louder but noticeably so, so that the whole room could hear it Naruto got ready to intervene. When this Kabuto character opened his mouth and started reading from the card Naruto did intervene.

"Senju Naruto, Genin of Konoha. Having been trained outside of the acade.." that was as far as he got before a sharp but small blade of wind cut the card into multiple pieces.

"I don't think it would be a good idea to continue." while said in a calm tone the usual indifference Naruto used when speaking was absent.

While the attention of everybody in the room was now on him Naruto didn't care that much. What that boy had been about to reveal was probably not something Naruto wanted known by everyone in this room.

Considering the situation he found himself in and glancing at everyone in the room Naruto decided on a course of action when he felt the chakra signatures in the vicinity.

"The supervisors are about to arrive." with this Naruto leaned back against the wall he had been leaning against before and closed his eyes to think looking like nothing had just happened.

Just as Naruto had said a moment later the door opened and a group of people, all of rank Chunin or higher judging by the flak-vests, entered the room. The man at the head of the group was the head of the Torture and Interrogation Force, Morino Ibiki. The scarred face and grim expression were certainly fitting for someone working in that field.

After arriving at the front of the room Ibiki quieted the whole room in his own fashion. "Shut your mouths maggots or you will be expelled from the Exam immediately!"

It certainly did shut everybody's mouth and turned their attention to the front.

"Now that all of you are paying attention we can start. The first part of this year's Chunin Exam will be written test. Everybody will get a test and will have to answer the questions on the paper. Should one member of the Team not be able to pass this part the whole Team will not be able to continue. Cheating will award you with negative points if I or my colleagues catch you and getting caught cheating leads to being expelled from the Exam. You will have fifty minutes for the questions before you will be given a last question with extra rules. Those rules will not be known until the questions is given. Now sit down and be quiet!" after this explanation the Chunin that had entered with Ibiki started distributing papers.

When everybody had sat down and had received a paper Ibiki once again addressed the whole room, "No questions will be answered however you can chose to leave when ever you want. Your fifty minutes have started." after this everyone turned the paper and read the questions.

Looking at the questions Naruto could see that this test wasn't actually about knowledge. While some people in the room would be able to answer many if not all of the questions a normal Genin shouldn't be able to. So they were expected to cheat.

That meant that the real answers were somewhere in this room. The most probable thing would be members of Konoha's Shinobi force being hidden among the Genin with the real answers on their papers. So cheating without getting noticed?

That was too hard under the watchful eye of Ibiki and the other Chunin, so a certain standard had to be met so that you didn't get called out? It was the logical conclusion.

Filling in the answers Naruto thought about the course that these Exams were about to take. While he was sure that both Yakumo and Shikamaru would be able to answer if not all of them atleast some of the questions on the paper, so even if having a certain number of correct answers on your paper was a requirement they would be able to pass. Looking at the other Genin in his peripheral vision Naruto spotted various ways of cheating.

And then there were the ones that weren't ready for this at all. The stress of the situation seemed to be getting to them to a degree unbecoming of a Shinobi of Chunin Rank. Naruto noticed that most of the Genin showing signs of stress and nervousness were hailing from Konoha.

It was actually saddening to see that the quality of Konoha Shinobi had declined in such a way. When Naruto read the accounts in the Senju library the Shinobi always seemed much stronger and when Naruto looked purely at Chakra that was definitely the case. While Tobirama and Hashirama may have been exceptions to the rule in terms of Chakra capacity Tobirama had also written reports on how powerful a Shinobi of a certain rank should be in his view. The levels described in that piece were much higher then the ones present in the ranks of Konoha today.

It didn't take long for the first ones to leave the room. The sweat on the Genin's brow made rather clear that he just couldn't handle the stress of the situation and gave up because of it. After the first Genin decided to leave and his Team was taken out of the room with him the other ones that had already been close to giving up were only pushed towards that choice more then they already had been.

One after another Genin left the room until only seven Teams remained. When the last one had left about 10 minutes were still remaining until the final but separate question would be given.

In those minutes Naruto decided to get a better view of the other rooms. Closing his eyes and calming his breathing Naruto send out a pulse of Chakra in all directions. This way Naruto was able to get a full view of the building he was in.

While this was stressing for the mind and only got harder the bigger the area Naruto had learned to handle that for a short time when the area was 'contained' so to speak.

Ignoring the Teams leaving the building Naruto focused on the other rooms on the floor where other Genin were taking the First part of the Chunin Exam. In total it seemed like only 30 teams still remained. While the room Naruto and his Team were in had only seven teams still remaining the other three rooms weren't as vacant so the number of Genin for the second round would probably still be rather high depending on the difficulty of the last question of course.

"All right listen up! Pencils down the test is over. All of you turn around you papers and prepare for the last question it won't be repeated. However first I will explain some extra rules. Should you chose to not take this question you will be asked to leave and you and your team will be expelled from the Chunin Exam and can try again next year." just as Ibiki was about to continue the brash Inuzuka heir chose this moment to comment.

"Pff so why would anybody not take the question?" the arrogance and impatience was very clear while the boy said this. Naruto only turned away from the brown haired boy. That wasn't Shinobi behavior at all.

"If you would not have interrupted me you wouldn't be so confident", saying this a sadistic smirk had formed on Ibiki's face unnerving many in the room.

"Should you however chose to take the question and get it wrong there will be severe consequences. Should you answer wrong you will not only be expelled from this Exam but you will also not be able to ever take part in another Chunin Exam again." this announcement was meet with an expectant reaction. The displeasure was visible on the others faces and some were very vocal in expressing that feeling.

"That is bullshit, you can't just expel us from any Chunin Exam to come, who do you think you are?" while something Naruto had expected the Inuzuka to say it was actually one of the Genin from Otogakure that had spoken up.

That level of disrespect was obviously not going to met with a nice answer.

"As far as you little brats are concerned I'm as close to Kami as it gets. I make the rules in this place and as long as you are taking this Exam you better obey me or else.." the threat was clear enough as it was though Naruto believed that with Ibiki's experience he could have probably made it even worse by spelling out what exactly he would do.

When everything was quiet again Ibiki continued, "As I was saying giving a false answer will permanently ban you from any Chunin Exam. So I would be very careful in making my decision. You have one minute to make your decision. Everybody that wants to leave is allowed to do so now." with that statement the room was once again silent.

Naruto could taste the tension in the room but he was surprised to see that none of the people in his immediate view actually looked like they would cave in. As the minute passed no one in the room seemed inclined to take action and leave. As the last seconds passed Naruto was able to smell the sweat on the brows of the some of the Genin though none of them were giving in.

When the minute ended Naruto could swear that he could spot something along the lines of respect in Ibiki's gaze though it was covered up immediately. "Time is up and to all those remaining in the room I can say only one thing, you pass the First Part of the Chunin Exam."

This declaration was met with different levels of disbelief from the Genin still in the room. Naruto himself masked his surprised expression as fast as he could though judging by the knowing glance Ibiki had sent him he hadn't been fast enough.

As much as Naruto had prepared for many different scenarios simple agreement to the terms being the actual final question had not been what he had expected.

Instead of his quiet and thoughtful way of dealing with the surprise some Genin in the room chose another one.

"Are you serious?! All that talk and in the end there isn't even a final question?" this time it was the boy in black hailing from Suna that opened his mouth. While not as brash as the Inuzuka heir he was seemingly almost as impulsive and far from a controlled individual.

Not even turning towards the black-clad male Naruto focused his attention on his two teammates. Watching their faces Naruto could see that they seemed satisfied though the surprise and disbelief was still visible on their faces. Seeing that neither Yakumo nor Shikamaru seemed overly nervous or stressed by the situation Naruto was even more assured that his teammates would never hold him back. While neither of them would ever beat him in direct combat they had their own areas of expertise.

The three of them were a effective Team and even if after these Chunin Exams it might be dissolved depending on the outcome Naruto was sure that they would be able to make a good Team in the future should the opportunity present itself.

Just when Naruto was about to focus back on the front of the room he sensed the new Chakra Signature travelling towards their window at high speeds. Since none of the present Konoha-nin reacted to it in any visible way Naruto didn't think that action on his part would be necessary.

Two seconds later the window was smashed by a bundle of what seemed to be cloth wrapped around a person. Two Kunai that got stuck in the ceiling of the room then held up the banner that unfolded itself reading 'Mitarashi Anko – Proctor of the Second Part of the Chunin Exam'. The person standing in front of the banner most likely being the aforementioned Mitarashi Anko.

Immediately after appearing while in, what Naruto thought to be a ridiculous pose, Mitarashi-san addressed the Genin in the room.

"All right I'm Mitarashi Anko the Proctor of the Second Part of the Chunin Exam." just as she was about to continue Ibiki, who had been hidden by the banner when it had unfolded, stepped in front of it.

"You are early again Anko." the exasperation in his tone made it rather obvious that this was a common occurrence which was an observation only strengthened by the slight blush of embarrassment that Naruto could spot on the new Proctor's cheeks. While he had been taught by Ibiki for a short time in the six years he had not been in the academy he had never met Mitarashi Anko.

After she seemed to get over her embarrassment the woman addressed Ibiki directly.

"So many still left Ibiki? Considering the other rooms there is still 21 Teams left. You getting soft in your old age or what?" her following snicker and the slight glare directed at her by Ibiki made it clear that this Proctor was the teasing type.

"Maybe this years crop of Genin is just very promising." it was reply delivered in the way that Naruto had come to associate with Ibiki after first meeting the man, blunt, concise and direct. The man wasn't one to beat around the bush and word-play wasn't his area of expertise, he used a much more 'hands-on' approach.

"Well it doesn't really matter why, the fact is that after my test I will cut their numbers in half at the very least." the last part of that statement was delivered with a sadistic grin forming on the woman's face which made the slightest of shivers travel down Naruto's spine.

"The Second Part of the Exam will start in Training Ground 44 in exactly half an hour. I would advise you to be punctual or you will be expelled from the Exam. Until then!" saying the last part in a sing-song tone the Proctor left the room in a Shunshin leaving a rather quiet room behind.

Naruto being the first one to move walked towards Yakumo while calling Shikamaru over with a motion of his hand.

When Shikamaru arrived Naruto laid one hand on his shoulder and the other on Yakumo's before using a Shunshin to travel to Training Ground 44 leaving the academy room behind.

* * *

In a burst of wind Naruto and his Team appeared in front of the entrance to the Forest of Death, the name that had been given to Training Ground 44. The fence that surrounded the forest was there for a reason and Naruto knew those that didn't know that reason already would be in for a surprise.

Standing in front of them was the Proctor for this part of the Exam Mitarashi Anko.

"Oh, so the first Team is already here? It seems like there was some truth to Ibiki's statement." saying this with a grin less sadistic in nature then before the woman seemed satisfied.

Glancing at her before looking at his Team Naruto completely ignored her and addressed his teammates. The slightest growl from behind him made it clear that she was displeased though Naruto didn't really care right now.

"I would advise discussing the First Part of the Exam at a later time and focusing on the Second Part for now." seeing their nods Naruto continued. "Traditionally the Second Part has been a Field Exercise with a certain objective. Killing and maiming will probably be allowed so expect combat as soon as this portion starts. Have either of you been in this Forest before?"

Two shakes of the head were Naruto's answer though it had been expected. The Forest of Death was generally not used for Training though it was designated as a Training Ground. Normally it was either used to stage the Chunin Exams or for special training for Chunin, ANBU or Jonin. Since even the forest itself without any interference from outside was dangerous enough because of the animals living in there Genin didn't visit it very often.

"As expected. Training Ground 44 also known as the Forest of Death is the most dangerous Training Ground in Konoha. Inside this Forest Flora and Fauna have grown to immense sizes meaning that the animals that we will most likely encounter while we are in there will pose a threat even to a Genin. Most plants in there are poisonous so be careful what you eat in there. The Forest is surrounded by a metal fence and a tower is situated at the center. From there the Forest stretches for about five clicks in every direction. It is probably likely that the Tower inside the Forest will be some kind of goal since it is natural point of reference inside the Forest. There is also a river running through the Forest. The water from this river can be safely used as drinking water." after this explanation Naruto gave his teammates some time to think about the information they had just been given.

During this time Neji and his Team had also arrived. Nodding towards the three of them in greeting the same gesture being reciprocated by members of the Team, Naruto turned back to the thoughtful face of his male comrade.

Shikamaru who was the one to supply tactics most of the time opened his mouth to speak, "I guess until we know exactly what our objective is we can't really plan anything precisely though I guess Speed and staying hidden should be our priorities during this Second Part."

Nodding towards Shikamaru in agreement Naruto waited until all the other Teams arrived.

When the last Team arrived about 5 minutes before the time limit ran out the Proctor of this part of the Exam coughed once to gain the attention of everyone.

"Since all of you have finally arrived I guess we can get started. This behind me is Training Ground 44 also known as the Forest of Death, why that is you will find out soon enough. For the next five days all of you will be in this forest taking part in something similar to a survival exercise. Your objective is to reach the tower in the middle of the forest. Each Team will gain one scroll either Heaven or Earth. You will be tasked with claiming the scroll you do not get at the start so that you have both scrolls when you get to the Tower. If you don't have both scrolls and have arrived at the Tower when the five days end you will be eliminated from the Exam. While in this forest killing and maiming is allowed. However since we don't want to get into any trouble when you kiddies die you will have to fill out a form stating that you were made aware of the risk and chose to take it willingly. When your Team hands in the form you will be given your scroll. Any questions?" most of the Genin were still digesting all that had been said when this question was asked but some questions still came up.

"What about food?" the slightly despairing tone in Choji's tone made it clear where his focus was and where his worries lied.

"Inside the Forest is a stream that can be used as water source, as for food, there are animals living in the Forest and some of the plants are edible though I would be careful with that..." the ominous note that the woman had ended on and the slight grin plastered on her face while delivering these news certainly didn't help the confidence of some of the Genin.

"Can only complete Teams pass the Exam?" one of the Kumo Genin asked this question and it was a valid point. Should one team member be maimed or even killed would the Team still be able to pass should they have the required scrolls?

"To pass this stage of the Exam only complete Teams will be accepted. After that however Teams won't matter anymore since you will be competing solo from that point onward. Should a member of your Team be injured too heavily for you to treat then that injury can be treated in the Tower since medics will stand by but you have to make it to the Tower with the complete Team for that to happen." this answer was given in a more serious way then was expected of the Proctor.

When nobody else raised a question the papers were handed out and the Teams handed in the forms one by one and received their scrolls.

* * *

Team 10 had arrived at their assigned Gate five minutes ago and were now waiting for the Second Part of the Exam to start. Since no one else was around Naruto reasoned that now was the only time they would probably have for any extensive and coordinated planning.

"So Shikamaru, you got anything?"

"Well, since reaching the Tower shouldn't be very hard since you could probably use Shunshin to travel a large part of the way with us we should focus on getting the other scroll first. The problem with that is that just randomly attacking teams could take a long time if we are unlucky. However this way we can eliminate more Teams from the Exam since taking their Scrolls means they either immediately lose or they will be forced to gather two new Scrolls. We don't even have to kill the different Members to get the Scrolls so we can even take Konoha teams out of the equation if we play our cards right. It would be ideal to get this whole thing wrapped up today though that is probably too ambitious. However speed is probably gonna be our biggest advantage and the deciding factor in getting through this Part unharmed." answered Shikamaru. While not exactly a strategy it was probably the best they could get on such a short notice and with so many possible outcomes.

"Very well, when we get into forest I'll look for the closest Team and we'll move towards them to get their scroll as fast as we can. When engaging I guess we will go for precise sneak attacks so as not to waste to much time then." supplied Naruto just before the sound signaling the start of the Second Part could be heard over the speaker and the gate opened.

Running into the forest with his two comrades not far behind Naruto lead his Team in the direction of the Tower. Jumping up one of the trees as soon as they had passed the treeline Naruto started hopping from branch to branch to cover more distance faster.

After a minute of this Naruto stopped on a branch thick enough to make standing not an act of balance. Crouching down Naruto closed his eyes sensed his surroundings. Since he was trying to cover a lot of ground he abandoned any kind of quality in the feedback he gained from sensing the way he did and simply went for the barest of information.

There it was!

About 200 meters to the left there was one Team of three. All of them seemed to be about even in Chakra levels though Naruto couldn't tell the fine differences. Two other Teams were also in close proximity to them with both of them travelling in the direction of the Tower aswell. They were far enough away however to not immediately spot the fight that would soon start.

So three Teams one of those closer then the two others and in a different direction. It was the obvious choice to attack that Team. Signaling in the direction of the Team Naruto started jumping in the direction while maneuvering in such a way that they would be coming from behind when they met the Team.

The Team they were now tailing from a distance of about 60 meters was from Otogakure. The two male members were flanking the only female member of the Team who probably held the scroll.

Naruto couldn't discern any special features about the three Genin that would give away any kind of specialty when it came to fighting. So they would have to go in blind. Nodding towards his teammates Naruto jumped to a higher branch so that he would be able to attack from above and accelerated to catch up with the Team.

Looking down at the enemy Team Naruto thought about the best way to engage them. The two males were most likely physically stronger then the female which would explain their formation. So taking out one of the males would make fighting the rest easier. However if the female really did carry the scroll only getting her would be enough since Shikamaru and Yakumo would be able to incapacitate the two he didn't attack as soon as they saw him engage.

While attacking the female on the off-chance that she really did carry the scroll was somewhat of a gamble and not really his preferred way of doing things it would limit the blood spilt if she did carry it. And if it wasn't the case they would probably be able to simply get it from the one carrying it while he was incapacitated.

Deciding on a course of action Naruto took out a Kunai and let his body go into a free fall towards the Team below him.

Impacting her back lead to a loss of forwards momentum on her part and made her and Naruto plummet towards the ground below. Crashing onto the ground and using the body below him almost like a cushion Naruto pulled open her backpouch and found what he had been looking for though it was another Heaven Scroll which meant they would have to confront another Team.

Hearing groaning from below him Naruto used the handle of his Kunai to hit the female Genin on the back of the head to knock her out. Killing her wasn't necessary and knocking her out would accomplish the same thing anyway. Looking up Naruto spotted Shikamaru on a branch with his hands in the rat-sign holding down both of the male Genin with his **Kagemane no Jutsu**.

A moment later Naruto's keen hearing picked up Yakumo's voice and a moment later Shikamaru released the handsign. The two Genin were now most likely trapped in some kind of illusion or simply put to sleep due to one of Yakumo's Genjutsu.

Holding up the Scroll so that Shikamaru could see it for a moment Naruto sealed away this second Scroll just like he had done with the first one. It was a method so natural and easy to apply and still Naruto would almost bet that no other Team used it.

Sealing Scrolls could be simply bought and were an essential part of Shinobi equipment. Why the Genin didn't think to use them to hide their own Scroll Naruto would never know.

Once more using the same method as before Naruto located the two Teams that had been close enough before and a third Team travelling in their direction from the side. Dedicating all of his focus to that direction and the Team of three Naruto was able to make out the Chakra signatures more clearly. The high speed they were travelling at probably meant that they knew what had transpired just moments ago since they weren't heading for the Tower directly.

The two Teams had probably been in contact in some way then. They would most likely be from Otogakure too and including the similar chakra levels compared to the Team they had just taken care of it was a good guess to believe them to be of about the same level. Since Naruto and his Team hadn't really gotten into combat with the first Team though that didn't really help much.

"One Team coming in our direction, arriving in about 30 seconds, get ready. Most likely an allied Team to this one we just took care of." while saying this Naruto looked in the direction that the new Team would be coming from.

20 seconds. Naruto's advanced hearing could pick up the sound of their sandals hitting the trees every time they landed on one of the branches and the rustling of leaves as the enemy Team rushed to get to their position.

15 seconds. The clinking of Kunai hitting each other because the enemy was a sign of their haste and disregard for stealth.

10 seconds. The elevated breathing of all three members of the new Team was audible to Naruto meaning that they had pushed themselves to get here.

5 seconds. The hammering of their hearts as blood was pumped through their bodies at high speeds was only audible to Naruto when he used Chakra to further enhance his hearing.

Finally the three Genin breached the treeline and jumped into the clearing. This team too was made up of one female and two males. Meeting them head-on Team 8 simply stood between the trees next to the bodies of the other Oto Team.

After visibly assessing all the things in the clearing the male in the middle, obviously the leader, spoke up with visible anger in his voice.

"What did you do to them?" growled the male while leaning as if he was ready to engage at any moment. The other male while also ready for a fight didn't let his emotions show as easily and held himself back more. The female of the Team seemed like the support of the Team and simply stood behind her two teammates though she kept shooting worried glances at the female member of the other Team lying right behind Naruto.

"They are not dead simply unconscious if that is your concern." answered Naruto still looking at the enemy Team with a cold expression without any kind of compassion.

At this the more aggressive of the two males and the female visibly relaxed while the more reserved one still kept his guard up. So this one would probably be the more dangerous one. So him first.

Just as the one in the front was about to open his mouth again Naruto struck. Appearing in front of the male that was still on guard with speed enhanced by the application of Chakra to his legs Naruto was just able to see the slightest widening of the boy's eyes before his uppercut hit home and the boy was send flying upwards. Naruto was pretty sure that his chakra enhanced strength should have been enough to knock the boy out but it gave him time to deal with the other two Oto Genin in any case.

Raising his leg Naruto hit the second male in the midsection with a spinning kick that knocked the boy back into one of the trees. The impact splintered the thick bark of the tree and seeing a shadow slithering towards the boy just in case Naruto turned towards the female who had just caught up with the situation.

Just as Naruto was about the deck the female with a punch in the face to knock her out she seemed to gather some courage and shouted out a frantic, "Wait!".

His fist stopping just inches from her face Naruto waited for the girl to speak. It wasn't like she was a threat anyways.

"Just take our scroll, it's what you want anyways right? I'll give you our scroll if you just let us leave peacefully alright?" while just a moment before her expression was one of fright right now Naruto could see the determination shining in her eyes. He could respect that even in an enemy. However…

"And what is stopping me from just killing you and then taking your Team's scroll?" in combination with his cold eyes and emotionless face that was definitely a statement that seemed to hit home with the girl. Her surprised and scared look changed into a surprisingly calculating one a moment later though.

Just as Naruto was about to raise an eyebrow in question and ask what she had come up with the girl took out her Team's scroll that was conveniently mantled in an explosive note. Well, this Team seemed prepared at the very least. It was a Earth Scroll though so just what they needed.

"If you don't do it my way I'll blow up this scroll and you will have to hunt for another one." for just a moment the impulse to just let her do so just to wipe the triumphant expression off the girls face struck Naruto though it was immediately suppressed. This was neither the place nor the time for such behaviur.

Closing his eyes Naruto replied to the girl, "Very well, we will leave with the scroll and you and your teammates aswell as the members of the other Team will stay unharmed." holding out his hand Naruto accepted the Earth Scroll that the last standing member of the Oto Team handed over a moment after he had accepted.

Sealing it away Naruto turned to his teammates and addressed them.

"Shikamaru, Yakumo we are leaving, we have what we came for." seeing them nod in confirmation Naruto pocket the Kunai that had still been in his hand and leaped into the trees ahead of his two teammates.

* * *

"So why did you let her go just like that? Normally you wouldn't have accepted such a transaction. And don't say she would have blown up the scroll we all know that you could have stopped the explosion from happening or at the very least saved the scroll easily." asked Shikamaru once they were out of the clearing and on there way to the tower.

"I guess I don't know" not seeing a reason to further explain his actions and not really able to do so Naruto simply sped up and lead his two comrades away from any other Teams while travelling in the general direction of the Tower.

Shikamaru looked at Yakumo when he heard this answer, she however could only shake her head to indicate that she had no idea either. Putting the incident to the back of his mind for now Shikamaru simply followed behind his teammate.

Stopping after about half a minute of travelling Naruto turned to his teammates who had stopped on a different branch behind him.

"Right now I could bring us to the Tower by Shunshin immediately however since we didn't really have to fight yet we could try to lower the amount of Teams still in the competition. What do you say?" asked Naruto looking at Shikamaru and Yakumo.

Since they already had the necessary scrolls there wasn't any real need to continue hunting other Teams anymore besides limiting the amount of Teams that would pass.

"Let's go to the Tower. While we could limit the amount of Teams further we run the risk of exposing our abilities should any Teams watch our fights. Then there is the fact that I have no desire to fight some of the Teams participating in the Exam especially that Suna Team with the red-head." at the end Shikamaru looked slightly disturbed while speaking of Subaku no Gaara as Naruto had gotten to know the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi.

Looking towards Yakumo for her input Naruto received a simple nod of agreement from her. While he would have continued their escapade in the Forest he could understand his Teammates aswell.

"Very well." after this Naruto once more scanned for any nearby Teams and not detecting any in the immediate vicinity jumped onto the branch his comrades were on before laying a hand on one of their shoulders respectively. Closing his eyes and focusing his Chakra Naruto invoked a silent **Shunshin no Jutsu** to bring him and his Team to the Tower in the middle of the Forest.

A moment later Team 10 seemed to vanish in a small of gust of wind before appearing in front of the entrance to the Tower.

Stepping away from his two teammates Naruto turned to the door behind him and pushed the gate open before entering with his two teammates right behind him.

Greeting them was a big room with a stone statue of two hands forming the ram-sign. The room looked like an arena with the two balconies for spectators to watch the proceedings. The room however was not empty however. Greeting them was a Konoha Chunin standing a few feet from the entrance of the room with a somewhat surprised expression on his face.

"You have already finished?" it was asked with a certain amount of disbelief though once Naruto unsealed all their scrolls the Chunin turned more serious and took the Scrolls from them.

"You did not open the scrolls correct?" the man asked while inspecting the Scrolls given to them. After making sure that the scrolls were legitimate he handed one Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll back to Naruto with the indication to open them. The Second Heaven Scroll they had acquired was pocketed by the man.

Opening the Heaven Scroll first Naruto spotted an unfinished summon array. Opening the Earth Scroll aswell and positioning them so that the array would work Naruto let Chakra flow into the completed seal to summon what ever had been designated.

Appearing in a plume of smoke was non-other then there own teacher.

Looking at the three students assigned to him he nodded in their direction to convey his satisfaction with their accomplishment. "You did very well Team 10. Since you still have 4 days and the rest of this day left however you will have to stay in the Tower until this part of the Exam officially ends. Until then you will be given a room in the Tower. Any necessities will be provided for you. Should you wish to train you may use of the rooms designated for that purpose here in the Tower. Until the Second Part of the Chunin Exams ends however you will not be allowed to leave this Tower." with his job done Yamato shunshined out of the Tower leaving his Team to go to their rooms and wait until the Second Part of the Chunin Exam ends.

* * *

 **Finally! It took me way too long to write this chapter and there really is no excuse for that. On top of that this chapter doesn't really contain that much important info since it's just the Chunin Exam arc with some adjustments that got necessary because of my different Naruto. I hope that everyone can forgive me for the long wait and I will try to publish the next chapter faster than I did this one. Until then I hope everyone will be satisfied with this.**

 **I'm very grateful for every favorite, follow and especially review. It really does help me a ton.**

 **I am working on some other things that have taken up a bit of my time but I should be able to completely focus on this in the coming weeks since I finally have summer break.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Naruto of the true Ice**

 _Child Soldiers – Why Shinobi start their life at such a young age_

 _Observing the lifestyle of those calling themselves Shinobi I have observed many different things. One of these is the fact that since times long since passed these families known as Shinobi Clans have send young children out to fight and kill._

 _When one first encounters this they may react with pity, confusion or even horror at the moral implications this practice has. Thinking about it however and analysing the different reasons that caused this kind of behavior grants results that may change this initial view of the subject._

 _One of the biggest problem for Shinobi Clans that is an effect of their very nature is that they can simply not reproduce at the pace that their Shinobi die should they wait for the new generation to completely mature before sending them out. As long as one Clan continues with sending out children or even only young adults the other Clans will have to follow because they won't be able to balance out the deficiency in quantity with the quality of their Shinobi. Prodigies or Geniuses that outshine their own age group are simply not common enough to count on them to balance out the scales so that Children wouldn't have to be sent to the battlefield._

 _Then there is the psychological factor. Even hardened Shinobi who have taken countless lives will tend to hesitate when fighting a child compared to a similar situation against an adult. And even should they not hesitate and fight them seriously from the start they may still underestimate or overestimate them depending on the situation. Should either of the two cases apply it can happen that seasoned Shinobi are taken care of by inexperienced children even if in one case taking care of means being beaten by them and in the other it means prolonging the fight long enough that reinforcements can arrive or another Shinobi can come to either sides aid. This way you send one child and potentially hold of one or even two more valuable Shinobi for precious time even if that results in the child's death._

 _And even of the Children are not immediately sent to die on the battlefield starting their training at a young age is sound logic. With such low life expectancies many Shinobi are not able to realize their full potential before they die so starting their training as early as possible both helps them reach their full potential earlier or atleast increases their chances of survival so that they have the time necessary to reach that point later on._

 _I myself have observed this practice over the years and I am not sure whether to support or condemn it._

* * *

The wait in the Tower had been just as uneventful as Naruto had expected. While there would have been the opportunity to train in one of the facilities inside the Tower Naruto didn't want to risk being seen by any of the other competitors that had already finished the Second Part of the Exam.

So he was stuck with waiting, meditating and training in ways that were possible in the solace of his own room. Training hand-seals, as much as he disliked using them, was one of these things. It was important to be able to precisely and quickly use even a long string of them while in combat to use a jutsu that hadn't been mastered completely and for Naruto who had a rather big arsenal of jutsu this was almost essential to his very approach to combat. Since he was what may be called a Ninjutsu Specialist that could still hold his own in close combat very well it was important for his jutsu arsenal to be wide and diverse. Because of that not every jutsu that Naruto knew had been mastered, _yet_.

Since Naruto believed that mastering a Jutsu was a must for maximizing ones effectiveness as a Shinobi it was one of his goals to master all the Jutsu that he knew in such a way that he would never lose a fight because he couldn't use his jutsu as well as his adversary.

Walking towards the main hall of the Tower since they had been told to assemble there once the arrival of the last Team was announced Naruto thought back on a lesson that had been taught to him by one of the teachers that had taught him over the years.

* * *

 _Flashback_

" _As a Shinobi you will inevitably fight many battles, however most of them will be decided before you even exchange the first strike. As a Shinobi we do not fight fairly and use every available advantage that we can exploit. The most important thing for this is information. If you know your enemy you can prepare for everything he has to offer. Through this you can win your battles without actually fighting most of them."_

 _Nodding in acceptance and to show that he had listened Naruto stood in front of his teacher._

 _Acknowledging the sign his teacher continued._

" _If you have understood this the importance of information gathering and the analys_ _is_ _of your enemy become obvious. This will be an essential part of your life as a Shinobi._ _Do you understand this?"_

" _I understand Danzo-sensei." answered Naruto._

" _Very good, for now we will continue with your training in_ _Fūton Chakra."_

* * *

Information was key, however as the Genin competing in these Chunin Exams were mostly unknown since they were after all Genin is was rather difficult to come across information beforehand. Since he and his Team had cleared the second Stage rather quickly there hadn't been any opportunities to observe any of the other competitors to see what they had to offer during the Second Part either so Naruto would have to gather every bit of information and conclude as much as possible from the things he would see from the different Genin before the Third Part.

Arriving in the main hall Naruto could spot the instructors of the First and Second Part together with some other people as well as the Hokage. Standing in front of the plateau that the instructors where situated on were some of the Genin that had finished the Second Part but not all of them.

Seeing that the Teams already in the room were standing in lines separated by Team Naruto positioned himself in a similar way by standing next to the Genin that were at the front of their Team and waited for the rest of the Genin to arrive.

A minute later all of the Genin had assembled in front of the Hokage and the instructors for the Chunin Exam as well as several Jonin including the Sensei of the participating Teams.

Seeing that all Genin had arrived the Hokage stepped forward to address the Genin.

"Before the Third Exam starts I want to explain to all of you here the meaning of the Chunin Exams. The betterment of the relations between the villages, to promote worthy Genin? While these factors may play a part it is certainly a small one. What was really intended when the Chunin Exams were established was but one thing. Using them as a substitute for war." at this the old and gravely voice of the Sandaime stopped for a moment.

Some of the Genin reacted in expected surprise. It was clear that the ones that did had until now not really thought about the means of the Shinobi world or questioned them.

"As we find ourselves in a time of relative peace the way to show the power of a country is to show it in the Chunin Exams. The power of a country is to a big part the power of the Shinobi village and the power of the villages is the power of their Shinobi. Should one village vastly outperform the other participants that village will see an increase in business both Shinobi and civilian. The third round is the most important part for this as it will be made up of public fights between those of you that will participate. Those fights however will not only be witnessed by the general populace but also the Daimyo of different countries aswell as the Kage of different Shinobi villages." the aged Hokage continued.

The lapse in talking was immediately interrupted. "I do not really care for this, just get on with the next part of the Exam." the gravely voice of Subaku no Gaara that carried the slightest bit of bloodlust could be heard delivering this disrespectful interruption to the Hokage's explanation. The tone of the Suna Shinobi sent shivers down most of the Genin's spine.

While Naruto didn't really have a problem with Gaara as a person or his opinion on the actual topic as a Shinobi of Konoha such disrespect towards his Kage couldn't be left alone.

The spike of Chakra carrying an ice cold feeling coming from Naruto's position gained him the attention of everyone in the room. Opening one of his eyes to glare in Gaara's direction and crossing his arms in front of him Naruto addressed the Suna Shinobi and the host of the Ichibi.

"I advise that you stop such disrespectful behavior towards my Kage or you will have to deal with the consequences of your actions. If you have that opinion keep it to yourself since nobody cares however interrupting my Kage is not at all acceptable because of your opinion." having said his piece Naruto once again closed his eye and waited for the explanation to continue.

The pulse of killing intent coming from Gaara didn't aggravate any kind of response from Naruto though most of the Genin were unnerved by it, especially because the Ichibi's killing intent was mixed with it though none of the Genin except for Naruto knew that.

After a short bit of silence the Hokage gained the attention of everyone again and continued as if nothing had happened.

"Since all the Genin here have completed the Second Part of the Chunin Exams and the different visitors that will soon arrive in Konoha do not wish their time to be wasted it will be necessary to hold a preliminary round however, as there are to many of you to simply continue like this. Hayate!" after this a sickly looking man stepped in front of the Genin and started his own explanation.

"I am the proctor of the Third Part of the Chunin Exam Gekkou Hayate. As Hokage-sama has stated we will now hold a preliminary round were you will fight in one-on-one fights to see who will be allowed to advance to the Third Round. From now on you do not operate as Team so members of the same Team may be asked to fight each other. The match ends when one participant is killed, unable to continue, concedes defeat or when I say so. The names of the ones that will fight will be displaced on that screen over there. All of the other please leave the fighting grounds or risk being involved in the fighting." after this explanation only made longer by numerous interruptions in the form of coughing from the sickly looking man himself the screen located on one of the walls displayed two names.

 _Uchiha Sasuke – Akado Yoroi_

All except for the two Konoha Shinobi left the fighting ground and assumed their position on the viewer ranges of the arena to watch the fight.

Closely watching the two fighters Naruto could spot the clear signs of both exhaustion and pain or discomfort on Sasuke's face on multiple occasions. He knew that the Uchiha and his Team had only arrived today so there had most likely not been enough time to fully recover from their experience in the forest.

On top of the exhaustion and unexplained discomfort however there seemed to be another problem. While Naruto would never admit it to his face so as not to enlarge his ego anymore Sasuke was one of the best in terms of Ninjutsu compared all the other competitors. So if that was the case why was he not using Ninjutsu?

While his opponent did have a curious ability even if he was exhausted and had lost some Chakra to his opponent Naruto could sense enough for atleast a few lower-ranked Jutsu that could definitely help in this fight.

A moment later Sasuke seemed to summon the last bit of fight left in him and was able to get away from his opponent that had now drained him of most of his Chakra. The maneuver that the Uchiha started a moment later was immediately recognized by multiple people in the audience.

While there was the possibility that Kakashi or Gai had taught that technique to Sasuke judging from the superior smirk that had appeared on Sasuke's face a moment before attacking that was probably not the case. The surprised looks on the faces of both Gai and Lee only cemented that feeling in Naruto.

"Shishi Rendan!"

Okay so he had changed the technique somewhat which warranted some respect since he most likely only recently saw Lee or Gai perform the original maneuver.

"Winner: Uchiha Sasuke"

In the end it was an effective strategy that did secure the victory against the older Genin, judging from the way Kakashi immediately appeared next to his student only to then Shunshin away with him there were some things to be talked about however. When the cheers from the Haruno girl that Naruto had mostly been able to tune out had subsided the screen once again displayed two names.

 _Haruno Sakura – Yakushi Kabuto_

A moment later both the pink-haired girl and the older teenager had walked down the steps and stopped opposite each other to wait for the proctor.

"Are you both ready?", receiving two nods Hayate raised his arm, "Hajime!".

The girl immediately sought to get the first strike in by rushing towards her opponent and striking at him with a random and rather clumsy haymaker. Even a normal Human could have easily evaded the strike for a Shinobi even if only a Genin it wasn't even a challenge.

Jumping backwards the grey-haired Genin easily got out of reach of the much younger and smaller girl. A look of contemplation seemed to ghost across the teens face but Naruto might have imagined it because it was gone in an instant. Following this the Haruno girl had to take a moment to regain her balance since she had overreached by not hitting and had put all of her strength into that blow.

As curious as it was her opponent simply gave her time to do so. When they were once again facing each other in neutral if somewhat clumsy stances on both parts the did not immediately jump back into action. It seemed like they both were the thinker-type though it did always show with the Haruno girl.

Flipping through the four necessary hand-seals two illusionary dopplegangers appeared next to the girl accompanied by a cry of, **"Bunshin no Jutsu!"**.

Naruto couldn't help but roll his eyes at the display. If the girl really thought that this would fool anybody long enough to be useful in a straight up tournament fight she was definitely not ready for this Exam or even a promotion to Genin.

Rushing towards her opponent with her clones to either side of her the pink-haired girl made it rather obvious that she was about to strike in a similar way to the last time. At the very least she made her clones copy her gesture so that it wasn't completely obvious who the real one was though the fact that she had not changed position or moved in a confusing way before made that rather redundant.

Contradicting Naruto's earlier thought her opponent seemed to have trouble distinguishing who the real threat among the three was and leaned back in what seemed to be slight fear. A moment later he dodged an attack from one of the clones before being hit by the only tangible fist there making him be thrown back quite a bit of distance.

After a moment of laying on the ground the boy stood up and held his face on the spot where he had been hit just moments before. Raising his other arm the boy opened his mouth and addressed all of the present people.

"I forfeit. I'm still not completely recovered from the Forest of Death and my Chakra is low. I don't think I have any chance of winning this match." after seeing the acknowledging nod from the proctor the boy left the arena to presumably walk to his room in the tower to recover.

'Even low on Chakra and exhausted it would be pretty easy to beat someone as weak as that joke of a Shinobi' the slight frown on Naruto face made it clear that he didn't quite agree with the surrender.

The elation and celebration of her own victory was quite audible and the comments towards 'Ino-pig' were not in short supply either. When she was reminded that her fight was over and that she should leave the arena now if the she didn't need any treatment the girl looked just slightly embarrassed for a second before walking up the steps towards her team that was once again made up of two people, her Sensei and one teammate.

 _Subaku no Kankuro – Tsurugi Misumi_

The fight was rather interesting to watch as Suna had been renowned and feared for their puppeteers during the Shinobi Wars and people like Sasori of the Red Sand only strengthened the belief that they were dangerous.

While his fellow Konoha Shinobi did lose his life it wasn't like anybody could expect to not come in contact with death during these exams and it only made it clearer that engaging a puppet user without caution had devastating results. Furthermore it had been the teens own fault to underestimate his opponent and overestimate his own abilities. While not a thought that should be held about another Konoha Shinobi it simply the way that Naruto thought about it. If the older Genin approached Shinobi life that way then he had it coming anyway.

 _Subaku no Temari – Higurashi Tenten_

'Talk about being unlucky...' Naruto thought looking at the two just about to start their fight.

"I guess it's the second win to Suna then." Shikamaru's comment was heard by most on that side of the arena though it wasn't spoken very loudly but was received differently. While most of the less observant ones looked confused at the statement especially because he was basically saying that his own comrade had no chance and that the fight was already decided others did seem to agree.

"What an unyouthful thing to say Nara-san!" the statement was mirrored by his similarly looking student in basically the same fashion.

"While you may call it unyouthful there is simply no way for Higurashi-san to win this because she got the worst possible opponent for her fighting style." even without looking Naruto could imagine the sour looks that passed across the faces of the two taijutsu specialists after his statement.

"Naruto is right. Tenten's opponent is her natural counter." the normal stoic Hyuuga also joined the conversation though he, like Naruto, kept focusing on the fight happening in front of them.

While her aim and versatility were impressive on their own there was simply no way for her to win if she kept using her weapons as projectiles. They only chance she would have had would have been melee combat but as far as Naruto had been told by Neji the girl tended to stick to ranged combat.

The end came quickly and the result was as anticipated. While commendable the girl's efforts had been in vain in the end. A wind user with a battle fan was simply to good at countering her efforts.

The arrogant and offensive comments made from both parts of the audience and the wind user herself were simply ignored by most since even in real battles it was a common tactic to harass opponents to make them lose their composure.

The injured girl was carried away to receive treatment from the medics positioned in the Tower for just this kind of situation right after Temari was declared the winner and she was advised to leave the arena stopping her from any further actions that she may have intended to go through with.

 _Aburame Shino – Abumi Zaku_

Naruto had always been fond, for a lack of a better term, of the Aburame. He could relate to the rational and calculated way the members of the Clan thought and acted and could imagine working with members of the Clan to be rather uncomplicated since they weren't known to be outwardly emotional or to start arguments.

Then there was the Oto Genin. While might call it commendable to fight despite not having the ability to use one of your arms Naruto would call it foolish. The Chunin Exams were certainly not a situation were you didn't have to choice to back out of a fight so choosing that option would have been the smart thing to do if you didn't completely outclass the rest of the participants which the guy evidently didn't do.

"Don't mess with me!" after the shout the Oto Genin continued to pull his thought to be injured right arm out of it's sling before aiming one arm at his opponent and his other arm at the insects coming from behind him.

"Heh. You should always have a trump card right!?" a moment later the wind waves that had been expected to leave the outstretched had still not come, instead chakra and visibly exited the Oto-nin's forearms to the sides very obviously crippling both arms even further.

"What?" the shout of surprise and confusion was a natural reaction when one had not studied the Aburame Clan before. Sending his Kikaichu into his opponents air tubes was a well thought out and effective strategy and certainly expected of an Aburame.

"Winner: Aburame Shino." when the Oto-nin was carried away for treatment and Shino had left the arena without further commentary the eyes of everyone present focused on the screen once again.

 _Senju Naruto – Subaku no Gaara_

'I should have seen this coming.' the sigh of exasperation that Naruto wanted to let lose was suppressed. In the end it was inevitable that he would fight sooner or later and this time he was at the very least guaranteed a good fight.

"Careful with him Naruto, he gives me a bad feeling." while Shikamaru knew that there was no way that Naruto would lose before reaching the Third Stage but it was better to be on the safe side, he was a Nara after all. Nodding in acceptance of the statement Naruto walked towards the steps to the arena.

"Don't disappoint now Naruto. I expect you in the Third Stage." while not heard by most of the others Naruto had heard Neji clearly. At this however the slightest of smiles could be seen on Naruto's face.

"Oh I won't, trust me." both of them had not looked at the other while addressing each other though it had been clear to both who had been the target of the comments.

Even though his opponent had already appeared in the arena in a swirl of sand Naruto wouldn't let that bother him.

The impatient and slightly bloodthirsty look that greeted him when walking down the steps was only topped by the menacing and twisted grin that spread across his opponents face when he came to a stop across from him.

"Mother wants your blood and I will supply it." while it didn't mean much to Naruto the knowing looks that both of Gaara's teammates gained at that statement probably meant that it wasn't good for him.

"Are both of you ready?" nodding to show that he was ready Naruto waited for the start of the match.

"Hajime!" while the proctor did immediately jump back to give him and his opponent space neither of the two moved instantly, instead Naruto just observed his opponent just as he was observed.

'So the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi is supposed to be able to control Sand right? And that Shunshin variant really gave away his ability to do so, the question is how good he is with that Sand of his.' deciding to find out Naruto readied himself to begin this fight.

Sending the necessary amount of Chakra to the seals on the inside of his sleeves made three Kunai fall into each of his hands. Throwing the Kunai one after another while spinning out of the way of a Sand attack that had moved towards him as soon as the Kunai had been summoned Naruto saw each and every Kunai be deflected by some of the Sand that had gathered at the feet of his opponent. From the speed the sand travelled it was probably not possible to bypass that defense with just throwing normal Kunai the normal way. Coming to a stop farther away outside of what seemed to be his opponent's effective range Naruto once again summoned three Kunai for each hand holding them in the spaces between his fingers.

Running towards Gaara to close some of the distance Naruto threw two Kunai in close succession to each other towards two different spots to see the extent of the defense. When that did not work and the Kunai were simply blocked the same way as before Naruto decided to try something else.

Once again throwing two Kunai in a direct path towards his enemy so that the Sand would obstruct his view for a moment Naruto rushed towards his opponent before jumping over him and launching one Kunai at the apex of his jump and one when just behind his opponent while still in the air.

As expected Gaara didn't seem inclined to move even though he clearly knew about both Kunai as he did glance upwards at Naruto's position when he was above him. That was what Naruto had been counting on. Both Kunai had been infused with Fūton Chakra just before he had thrown them which improved both their speed and cutting power.

Unfortunately while the enhanced Kunai were much faster then their normal counterparts it wasn't enough to completely overwhelm the Sand defense. So while they were able to penetrate the sand defense they were knocked off course enough to not critically injure Gaara.

The line vertically going down his face and the cut in the cloth atop his shoulder were evidence enough that Naruto was able to be a danger to the Suna-nin.

While Gaara did not turn around yet Naruto was still ready for any kind of retaliation.

"What is that?!" the somewhat horrified shout from Kakashi's only female student made it clear that something not in Naruto's vision was certainly surprising.

" _Sand armor already?"_ while it hadn't been meant to be heard by anybody Naruto's enhanced hearing coupled with the Chakra he was using to heighten all of his senses was enough to make out the whispered words from the brother of his own opponent.

'So he has some kind of armor?' Naruto thought. While it did complicate this fight a bit since the limitations of the armor were unknown to him he atleast knew about it's existence now.

Seeing tendrils of sand moving towards the body of the Suna Genin Naruto decided that while it probably repaired the damage he had done to the armor it also gave him some time.

Reaching into the only pouch on his person Naruto took out different supplies before covering the arena in smoke with some smokebombs. He didn't want to unnecessarily expand Chakra to accomplish the same thing so it was one of the few instances he used the relatively easy to make supplies.

As he and his opponent were now covered in smoke and not visible to both each other and the audience he could prepare.

'I just hope this will atleast work in some fashion.' was Naruto's last thought before placing his fingers on the ground and sending out a pulse of Chakra to confirm his opponents position.

While he wasn't trained in the Silent Killing Technique Mizugakure was so fond of, he had learned to not completely rely on eyesight alone.

After a good twenty seconds of silence where the arena was covered in smoke and nothing was visible to the onlookers except for the sole Hyuuga present it was broken by the sound of Kunai cutting through the air as they flew towards their target. After multiple more of these instances followed by the sound of the weapons impacting the Sand of Gaara with a "thud", it was silent again as the smoke started to clear. Just as the two fighters started becoming visible an explosion rocked the Tower as the position that Gaara had been in before the fight had been obscured blew up.

Naruto who had been near one of the corners of the arena when he had set of the Explosive Tags attached to the Kunai he had thrown was seen looking at the center of the explosion not losing his bearings for even a moment.

Just as the additional smoke created by the explosion started fading away a wave of Sand moved in Naruto's direction at impressive speeds. When the wave reached Naruto it impacted the position he had been in just moments before as he had easily jumped away from the sand.

When more Sand came it him and he was able to easily evade every attack it became clear that the range between the two of them was just to great for Gaara to bridge effectively with his Sand. With this much distance between them it was way too easy to anticipate the trajectory of the Sand attacks and dodge without any harm coming to him.

As Gaara was turning around and the murderous expression on his face became visible it became clear that the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi didn't appreciate Naruto's efforts. His slightly ruffled appearance was also evidence to the fact that those same efforts had been at best marginally effective.

"Behind you Gaara!" this time the boy's sister was the one to intervene as she spotted his Clone approaching Gaara from his blind spot.

As he sent a wave of sand to destroy the clone, the original Naruto also jumped into action. His clone was able to outmaneuver the sandwave but was in a decisively worse position after it, it didn't really matter though.

Rushing towards his opponent Naruto weaved a string of hand-seals.

' **Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu** ' expelling a torrent of water towards his opponent Naruto hoped that the relation between Water and the used Sand would be as he had expected.

As the torrent of water impacted the Sand shield from the front his Clone was able to maneuver on the other side of the fight.

' **Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu** ' after using the same hand-seals as it's creator the Clone expelled a similar torrent of Water though noticeably smaller in quantity.

After about three seconds of spraying the now nearly complete ball of Sand both Naruto and Clone stopped their assault with water and proceeded in two different ways.

While the original Naruto weaved some more hand-seals before crouching down and placing his hands on the ground before him the Clone rushed towards the slowly moving Sand barrier.

' **Doton: Ganchuso** ' while not easily visible it could be seen that multiple pillars of stone had protruded from the ground below Gaara.

Just as the pillars had protruded from the ground Naruto's clone reached the barrier with a Kunai in hand. Swinging at the slower moving sand and cutting straight through it because of the Fūton Chakra surrounding the blade the Clone wasn't able to reach Gaara in time before more Sand not weighed down by the water came from the ground and surrounded the Clone.

The real Naruto who had retreated after using his Jutsu was simply standing at a distance now while watching his Clone getting shrouded in Sand. Before too much Sand was able to surround the Clone grasped by the Sand a buildup of Chakra could be detected by those able to sense Chakra.

A moment later Gaara's position was once again enveloped in an explosion. This time of even greater magnitude then before though it wasn't as Naruto would have liked it to be. His **Bunshin Daibakuha** hadn't been supposed to use any Jutsu since any Chakra the Clone used limited the magnitude of the explosion.

There was no use in worrying about that though. He was sure that even that had not taken out his opponent though it should have atleast damaged him.

When his opponent became visible again his thoughts were confirmed. While Gaara was still standing and obviously not about to collapse his Sand Armor had been heavily damaged in the process. Large pieces on one side if Gaara's body were missing and the other side of the armor was falling off as the seconds passed on.

While Naruto hadn't expected the Stone Pillars to take Gaara out he had hoped for any kind of damage that would be done to the red-head and it seemed his strategy had paid off.

Even though the wounds were superficial at best there were some bigger scratches around Gaara's legs probably caused by the spear-like Stone Pillars.

More of note though was the crazed look on Gaara's face and the way that the Sand around him seemed to erratically lash out at the air in random ways almost as if it was mirroring it's owners state of mind. The tiny burst of Bijuu Chakra Naruto detected because of the accompanied killing intent was ignored for the much more immediate problem that was the now much faster Sand attacks coming his way.

It seemed that while the wounds to Gaara's body had been superficial the ones to his pride hadn't been, or more likely, the ones to the Ichibi's pride. Glancing at Gaara between moments of jumping and rolling to evade the dangerous masses of Sand Naruto saw that the few wounds he had been able to inflict had already been healed enough to only barely be visible.

Even though the parts of Gaara's sand that had been hit by his earlier assault had gotten wet and because of that were sturdier though much slower then before that didn't hinder Gaara from using all of his dry Sand to go after him.

With the attacks coming from so many directions and at such high speeds it was inevitable that at some point a mistake would be made. As the defensive party Naruto's mistake was directly and painfully punished.

When once again multiple torrents of Sand rushed in his direction and he jumped to the side to avoid the first one Naruto had not been aware enough to see another one impacting his exact position the next moment. Even a Shunshin couldn't get him out of there fast enough. He simply wasn't that proficient yet.

Such a mass of Sand slamming into you at high speeds and then impacting against the wall behind you certainly did deal some damage.

Unfortunately his opponent didn't seem inclined to stop his assault as the torrent of Sand that had just slammed him into the Arena wall leaving behind an impact-crater proceeded to grab him and throw him into the opposite wall behind Gaara. If Naruto hadn't been just slightly out of from the impact before he would have been able to correct his trajectory or land in some kind of dignified way, instead he once again slammed into the wall at full speed creating another crater.

'This sucks...' Naruto was pretty sure he felt atleast two ribs crack after both of these impacts and while Kyuubi's Chakra would heal the damage in a matter of seconds it was still painful and standing up was certainly uncomfortable.

Holding one hand over the spot where the cracked ribs were located Naruto heaved himself out of the hole he had created with his impact. Feeling his ribs heal a second later Naruto took the hand away before once again summoning Kunai into his hands. He didn't know why Gaara hadn't followed up on his attack yet but he certainly wasn't about to complain.

Exploding forward in a **Shunshin** Naruto appeared behind Gaara with both of his Kunai surrounded by Fūton and dripping blood. The same moment that Naruto reappeared two cuts on Gaara's right side opened and exploded with blood.

"What?!" the snappish comment shouted in a raspy voice did make it clear that Gaara was aware of the danger he was in.

Before any chance for recovering could appear Naruto once again dashed back to his former position once more getting two hits in, this time on Gaara's left side. Before Naruto could go for another two hits Gaara placed his hands in a hand-seal before he was completely encased in Sand.

Narrowing his eyes slightly Naruto wondered what the red-head was up to.

When the killing intent Gaara had started to radiate when he had first injured him started rising in intensity and got more and more reminiscent of the Bijuu he jailed Naruto knew that he had to act fast.

What exactly Gaara was doing he didn't know but more Bijuu Chakra would definitely make the whole thing more difficult. Right now this was still a battle between Shinobi, should it evolve into a battle between Jinchuuriki however Naruto couldn't guarantee anyone's safety.

So he had to finish this battle before that point could be reached.

Setting his hands in a cross-shaped hand-seal Naruto prepared for his attack.

" **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** " it was one of the jutsu Naruto still needed to call out loud so he usually tried to not use it while in hearing distances or in a fight in general. The uses of the Clones in direct combat were rather limited since they could only sustain a single hit after all.

On both sides of Naruto two Clones appeared. While it serverely limited his available options because of his Chakra being split, he would have to deal with it.

Both teams of two ran to one side of the Ball of Sand respectively before starting their own sequences of hand-seals. Naruto wasn't sure if he would be able to get through the Sand defense this way but he would have to try. There weren't many other ways he could think of despite this and he wasn't exactly of the one he would be forced to use if this one didn't work.

' **Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu** '

' **Doton: Erementu Teijun** ' _(AN: This is an original from me, roughly translates to 'Element Obedience')_

One Clone on either side shot a torrent of water before the other one placed his hand into the water that moments later hit the ball of Sand that Gaara was in. While Naruto hadn't tested the application of this Jutsu in such a way yet it was the cleanest and most effective way he could think of to deal with this defense without revealing too much in the Preliminaries. He couldn't really bust out any big moves so early into the game without running the risk that his opponents would find a counter.

Moments after the Water had hit the Sand some of the Sand started loosening from the structure before travelling backwards in the water towards the Clone that was using Doton Chakra.

Since Sand still fell under the category of Doton it was possible to control Sand by applying only Doton Chakra to the procedure. The only problem with that was that doing it in such a way was simply way to complicated. Controlling each grain of Sand individually simply took way too much concentration and the mental strain involved would be way to big even though the Chakra Cost may be manageable for atleast a short period.

What Naruto was doing while similar at first glance was a bit more complicated.

While one of the two Clones was continuously spraying the Sand with Water the other one essentially used the Chakra in the Suiton Jutsu used to create the Water to ride along and get directly to the Sand. Since both of the Clones had the same Chakra as they were copies of himself the was no problem in attaching one of the Clones Chakra to the other ones. So while the Water loosened the Sand and made it harder for Gaara to control it directly the other Clone tried to control those parts of the Sand that had loosened to travel towards it so that the defense could be worn down.

The problem with this plan was twofold. On one hand Gaara's control over the Sand was way stronger then Naruto's, which was why the whole plan was essentially banking on the fact that Naruto had assumed that channeling the Chakra of his Bijuu made it necessary that Gaara focus on that task and not on controlling his Sand which was probably one of the reasons that Gaara had the Sand form a sphere around him in the first place.

On the other Hand Naruto wasn't as proficient in the use of that Jutsu as he would have liked. While the idea of simply controlling an Element in indefinite ways was appealing and an easy fix for many of his problems it held different complications. For one it took a lot of experience with the Element to even attempt such a thing and doing it effectively was really only possible with Naruto's stronger affinities. Sadly those were Fūton and Suiton and even more then those two Hyoton, but not Doton. Which meant he had been forced to give the two Clones trying to control the Sand more Chakra so that it even had the chance of being effective.

Then there was the fact that this kind of application required a continuous supply of Chakra. While doing simple things with it could be much cheaper then using a Jutsu, the use in this way tended to be weaker and use over a long time could become costly fast. While Chakra Capacity and Cost weren't exactly his problems, power wasn't needed in this case and Naruto didn't intend to take long, the matter of proficiency was what lead to the failure of his plan.

After about of twenty seconds of more and more Sand travelling through the water the slow rise in Bijuu Chakra stopped entirely before all the Sand once again travelled towards the Sphere and didn't budge anymore. The new rise in Bijuu Chakra after that was a bit slower since Gaara was probably focusing on the Sand a bit more but it was existent nonetheless.

Dispelling all four of his Clones with a quick mental command Naruto resigned himself to the fact that he would have to go through with his least desired course of action anyways. He just hoped that it wouldn't cause any problems later on. He really hated doing it this way but there didn't seem to be any other way.

Dropping the last of his smoke bombs to once again conceal the Arena Naruto reached deep into himself for that well of power connected to his own by the Seal on his stomach. While he couldn't pull out much both for fear of announcing the identity of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and because of the repercussion tied to the use of the Chakra he didn't need much anyway. Because of the potency even a tiny bit of the Kyuubi's Chakra would be enough to overpower his opponents defense and win this fight.

Unseen to everyone else Naruto eyes had turned blood-red and his irises had turned into slits. A moment later Naruto closed his eyes since he wouldn't be able to see inside the smoke screen anyway. His senses had been enhanced even more now that more of the Kyuubi's Chakra was present in his own Chakra System so sight wasn't exactly necessary at this moment.

Channeling both Fūton and Bijuu Chakra into the Kunai once again in his hands Naruto got ready for his attack. Dashing forward Naruto stopped directly in front of the Sand Sphere before slashing the Ball in a cross-shape. The strengthened Fūton Chakra easily cut through the whole barrier protecting the red-head inside. Changing his angle of attack Naruto once more slashed with both Kunai before letting the Chakra inside the Kunai explode outward violently just when they were furthest inside the Sand Sphere.

The Sand standing between Gaara and Naruto was blasted away leaving the path towards the surprised Jinchuuriki completely unobstructed.

Both Kunai had been shattered by the force of the Chakra present in them being released in such a way but Naruto didn't need them to win this fight anyways. Channeling two of his basic affinities and using Chakra enhanced Speed Naruto slammed the palm of his Hand into the middle of Gaara's torso. While Naruto had not focused on force in that move the action still packed enough power to force the air out of Gaara lungs. The widened eyes of Naruto's opponent got even wider when Naruto Chakra invaded his System. A moment later the boy's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell backwards before landing on the ground, unconscious.

All the Sand around the two of them acted in a similar manner and immediately fell to the ground once Naruto's method started taking effect.

When the smoke cleared all of the onlookers finally caught a glimpse of the state the fight was in. The sight they came upon was met with different reaction however.

In the middle of the Arena lay Gaara seemingly unconscious and with it, beaten. Standing over him was Naruto one hand still outstretched and breathing heavily. While most of the people present had been sure that Naruto would win, some others like the other members of the Team from Suna looked extremely surprised and even a bit scared because of it.

It was understandable really, Naruto assumed that they probably thought their brother/student to be unbeatable since he was a human weapon and they had probably been aware of the existence sealed within him. Normally Jinchuuriki couldn't be beaten easily except for a application of Fuinjutsu though that wasn't what Naruto had done, but they could most likely not comprehend how Gaara lost.

The reaction of the people watching wasn't Naruto's first concern right now. The usage of Bijuu Chakra was damaging and that effect only got stronger the stronger the Bijuu. Even using such a tiny amount of Chakra had tired him out and the burning that he could feel in the Chakra pathways leading to his hands was proof that exhaustion wasn't the only consequence.

Naruto was actually impressed how Gaara seemed to so casually utilize the Chakra of the Bijuu inside of him.

Noticing the Proctor landing next to him tried to control his breathing as best as he could though it was still noticeably elevated.

"Winner: Senju Naruto." nodding in acknowledgement Naruto left the Arena before leaving the Hall towards his room without a single word. While he would have liked to stay and watch the other fights he needed rest and he needed it now. Since the damage to his Chakra pathways couldn't be explained easily he would have to heal the damage the best he could himself before letting them naturally heal from that point onwards. The Kyuubi's Chakra wouldn't heal that kind of damage since anymore of that Chakra in his system would just make the whole thing worse.

"The next match will be started as soon as the Arena has been fixed." that was the last thing Naruto heard before he left the hall to recover in his room.

* * *

It was a completely stupid idea but not watching these fights would just end up to his own disadvantage. So setting his fingers in the cross-shaped hand-seal Naruto once again used the same technique he had used without effect just moments before.

" **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** "

A doppelganger once again appeared in a plume of smoke before it left the same way he had just come from. It would just do it's job and he could rest easy now so the extra strain on his Chakra Pathways was something he thought to be worth.

* * *

When the day ended and Naruto had left the Forest together with all the people in the Tower he had finally been able to dispel his Clone inside the safety of the Senju compound.

Since he had prepared for the influx of information it didn't hit him as hard as it had done the first time though the mass of impressions still procured a slight headache in Naruto.

Looking through the different fights Naruto wasn't to sure on what to think. While some like Ino's match against one of the Kumo-nin had been decided from the start and had shown how large the difference in skill had been Shikamaru's match had shown how brute force lost out against control and precision as well as tactics.

While Shikamaru had gotten better in Taijutsu and his Speed and Strength should not be ignore it was certainly not the Nara heir's strong suit. In comparison the Kumo-nin he had been matched against looked like the very definition of brawn.

It had been obvious that in a straight up fight Shikamaru would loose so he had never sought a straight up fight and had won with his wits and not through force.

The fight between Lee and Kiba had been mostly a Taijutsu match with some Ninjutsu usage on Kiba's side so it hadn't been very exiting, for Naruto atleast. It wasn't Naruto's way of fighting and it had been apparent that Lee simply out did Kiba in Taijutsu so his win hadn't come as a surprise.

That Neji had made short work of the female member of the Kumo Team wasn't unexpected either. While Neji didn't let emotions cloud his judgment most of the time Kumo was a sore spot for him so he had been a bit more brutal then actually necessary.

Choji's fight with Dosu had been both interesting and anticlimactic. While the usage of Sound as a weapon was intriguing not much of the application had been shown so Naruto would postpone judgment on the actual effectiveness until he saw it's limitations in battle.

Choji as someone who prefered blocking over dodging since it was much more effective with his fighting style was rather ill fitted to expose those limitations however since as far as Naruto was aware the arsenal of Akimichi Clan Jutsu didn't include actual long ranged attacks and simple throwing weapons would probably not have been enough to force his opponents hand at a distance.

The most uneventful fight however had been between Yakumo and Tsuchi Kin. Since the both of them were Genjutsu users nothing of the actual struggle between the two illusionists could be seen by the human eye.

While the Oto-nin used a more active method of actually invoking her Genjutsu since she used bells connected to Senbon to activate an auditory illusion on her opponent she was simply trumped by the overwhelming strength of Yakumo's illusions. While most of Yakumo's illusion involved her painting something she was able to still use those that weren't restricted in this fashion.

Since she didn't have combat support in a situation like this she couldn't rely on others to buy her enough time so she had to make do with weaker but faster illusions to win the fight.

While Naruto didn't know what exactly had been shown to the Oto Genin it had obviously been enough to stun her long enough for Yakumo to walk over to her and knock her out with a chop to the neck.

The fight could have gone differently if Yakumo's opponent hadn't insisted on starting a speech as soon as the fight started instead of immediately starting to fight like Yakumo had done. This way Yakumo had been the first to activate her Genjutsu and had won because of it.

After all of the fight had been finished the fight arrangements for the Third Round had been announced. The first round would be made up of four three way fights with four one Genin passing to the next round in each resulting in two Semifinals and one Final between the two winners.

 _Haruno Sakura – Senju Naruto -_ _Boufuu_ _Chūi_

 _Rock Lee – Nara Shikamaru – Kinuta Dosu_

 _Hyuuga Neji – Kurama Yakumo – Subaku no Kankuro_

 _Uchiha Sasuke – Subaku no Temari – Aburame Shino_

Until those fights however all of the Genin that would be participating had a whole month to prepare and heal so that they could compete in the Tournament while in peak-condition.

The Kumo Genin he would be fighting against was the one that had won against Ino and there wasn't much Naruto could know about him for sure. While the older boy had shown that he was proficient in Taijutsu it wasn't like he had been pressed to show his full capabilities so Naruto had to assume the worst meaning that he was at a disadvantage in melee combat should the older Genin really be more proficient in Taijutsu then him.

Assuming that the Kumo-nin had atleast some ability to use Raiton Jutsu was a given since he hailed from Kumogakure and Shinobi from there tended to learn Jutsu of that Nature even if their affinity didn't necessarily align.

Then there was also the sword the boy carried. Being a Katana meant that the boy had the reach advantage in armed combat against Naruto's Tanto so he had to be faster then the other boy to get hits in. Since he had the natural upper hand when it came to Ninjutsu because of his Fūton affinity he probably didn't have to worry about that as long as his opponent was not able to use Katon techniques but he could deal with that just as easily.

Then there was also Haruno Sakura. While she didn't present an immediate threat to him just disregarding her wouldn't be good. As far as he had seen Naruto shouldn't expect anything Ninjutsu-wise. While the girl also had a month to train it was unlikely that she would develop enough to be a threat to him in that area of combat.

Though Naruto wasn't sure if the Girl was adept at Genjutsu since she seemed like the Genjutsu-type judging from her appearance but hadn't exhibited any kind of proficiency during her preliminary fight he was fairly certain that he would be able to deal with all of the Genjutsu that a Genin could throw at him as long as they weren't Yakumo. While he could get out of her Illusions as well it took a bit of time that he didn't necessarily have in such a fight.

Her Taijutsu seemed sloppy but it couldn't have been a ruse or there may have been another reason for that like an injury from the Second Part that hadn't healed until then and restricted her movements or something. There had to be something that had made Kakashi believe that his Team was ready for the Exam so Naruto would be cautious with the Girl even though he couldn't think of anything she could have been hiding.

Well, there really was no way to know beforehand so he would have to prepare as best as he could so that he could react to whatever would be thrown at him.

* * *

It had taken a while but Naruto had finally been able to get the instructions he needed to learn what he needed. Now it was all up to him to fulfill these steps and hopefully be able to win the Chunin Exams because of it. He needed that promotion or he would have to wait for a field promotion and those were few and far between in times of peace.

Applying for ANBU required atleast Chunin Rank and even then there was a high chance that you wouldn't be accepted. How Itachi had done it such a young age Naruto couldn't fathom.

Normally those that applied for ANBU weren't accepted because ANBU required a certain type of person and abilities and they probably didn't want to run every member through even more tests to see if they were even qualified for he position, because of that high ranking members of Konoha were allowed to recommend you for ANBU duty which was the way that most people got into ANBU.

Naruto didn't really know if he could get any recommendations though. While his Ninjutsu arsenal was impressive and his total Chakra capacity was extraordinary and was coupled with a very good Chakra Control Naruto wasn't sure if that was enough. Was he exceptional enough for ANBU?

Or was he too exceptional for ANBU? Since ANBU operated in the unknown and kept their identities hidden so that they wouldn't be shackled in their tasks in any way it was paramount that there fighting styles didn't give away there identity. His Hyoton and especially his Mokuton would certainly raise red flags should any of his opponents survive the confrontation or should there be any witnesses and it would make him stand out immediately which would go against the very nature of the Black Ops.

It really was difficult but that was what made it all the more enticing to actually make it. While he was fascinated with the idea of being a part of ANBU and it did fit his personality much better to essentially be a Shadow in the Dark the very difficulty that was getting into ANBU certainly helped make the wish to join ANBU more prominent. It was a challenge and one that Naruto wanted to beat.

For now it was back to training though. All of these thoughts and wishes depended on him actually getting promoted so achieving that was his first order of business.

* * *

There were times that Naruto really hated that he was born a Senju. Sure, most of the times he rather enjoyed his status as a 'noble' and all the duties and privileges that came with that title. As a Shinobi however that could make some situations problematic. While he may be a Shinobi he was still a noble and basically the Head of the Senju Clan at the same time so there were times where he was called for political business even though he really didn't have the time for that right now.

He could obviously not say that and ignore the summons. So his training had to wait so that he could be there to meet the different nobles that were coming to Konoha for the Third Round of the Chunin Exams. It wasn't like his role was actually important though. Just like every other Clanhead even though he was in fact only heir in title at the moment, he had to be there and represent his Clan to the visiting nobles.

Otherwise it would reflect badly upon the Senju name and that could have repercussions that Naruto didn't even want to think about. It was bad enough that the only other member of the Clan beside him didn't exactly have a good reputation, there was no reason for him to add on to that.

Meeting and greeting those that arrived in Konoha, participating in four meetings with Nobles and the Clanheads and giving three tours of Konoha to those that had were in Konoha for the first time cut down Naruto's training time from a month to about 18 days. The problem with that was that he wasn't able to continuously train for 18 days since the different arrivals and appointments weren't on consecutive days and he would have to take it easy the two days before the Tournament so that he was fresh when he fought.

It wasn't all bad however. Since the Chunin Exams were hosted in Konoha it was only logical that the Fire Daimyo would be there to watch the proceedings. And when the Fire Daimyo came to Konoha it was only natural that his family would come with him and that meant that he had gotten to see Kasumi again.

It was another incentive to win the Chunin Exams and perform well in the Third Round as well, he didn't want to disappoint her after all when she was watching him perform.

Seeing her however was more literal then Naruto had hoped. While he had some connection with the Daimyo he hadn't been able to speak with Kasumi at all for the time that she had been in Konoha since the both of them were busy.

While Kasumi wasn't the next in line for the position of Daimyo she was still part of the royal family of Fire Country meaning that she was rather sought after, both from other Nobles and influential merchant or similar people.

Those that had political sway and power had an understandable interest in the royal family since it was connected to a lot of power and a lot of money. So Kasumi had been in different meetings and talks together with her father regarding these people.

Then there was the fact that appearances had to be kept and he couldn't let any kind of rumour appear that could insinuate anything about the two of them. It would only spell trouble for the both of them so it was better that Naruto kept his distance for now and look for another opportunity at another time, maybe right after the Third Round was finished.

When all of the political business had been taken care of though Naruto was finally able to use his time to train. He had a project to finish after all.

* * *

There were four days left until the Third Part of the Chunin Exams would happen and Naruto's training had finally paid off, the swirling Sphere of Chakra currently in his hand was proof of that. It had been tricky to get down in such short time frame since he hadn't exclusively focused on only this task but he had done it in the end which is what counted.

Releasing the Chakra from the technique to disperse it Naruto decided that it would have to suffice. There was no way he would make any kind of improvement in terms of training in these last two days so there really was no reason to try.

Entering the Main House of the Senju Compound Naruto decided to take a shower before getting something to eat.

When he had finished eating Naruto decided on a course of action for the last two days. If he couldn't train he could maybe gather information on his opponents or at the very least strategize for the fights.

So it was espionage then. Creating two **Kage Bunshin** Naruto set out to find out as much as he could so that he would be well prepared for the fights to come.

* * *

Entering the Arena Naruto could see the stands being filled to the brim with people. In the middle of the fighting ground stood the proctor already waiting for the Genin.

Behind Naruto were all the other Genin that would participate in the Tournament.

When the twelve Genin stopped in front of the Proctor and stood in two lines the arena quieted down. In the box reserved for the Kage watching the fights one figure stood to address the crowd.

"In my position as Hokage I welcome all those present to Konoha and the Chunin Selection Exams of this year. I am sure that the twelve Genin that have advanced to this point will be able to show whether or not they are worthy of the title of Chunin. I wish all of the participants good luck and hereby declare the Third Part of the Chunin Selection Exam open. May we see great fights in the coming hours." following this the public broke out in applause and cheers and the excitement for the fights was almost visible.

"The first Fight between Haruno Sakura, Boufuu Chūi and Senju Naruto. All other participants please relocate to the fighters lounge until your match is called." the Proctor said in a sickly tone of voice while addressing the Genin.

When all other Genin had left the Arena and Naruto and his two opponents had positioned themselves in a triangle the fight was ready to start.

Lifting his arm the proctor addressed the three Genin still in the Arena.

"Are you all ready?" receiving three nods in response Hayate got ready to start the match.

"Hajime!"

* * *

 **Finished this chapter a bit later then I wanted to but it's here now. I originally wanted to do both the preliminaries and the Third Part in one chapter but the fight took up a surprising bit of space and it would have taken way too long if I also included the Third Part so I only did the preliminaries here. I would really appreciate some feedback concerning the fighting scene since I'm not sure if I did it that well. My thanks to Kamen Rider Fan 12 for beta'ing this chapter for me. It really helped to know that a second person looked over my work beforehand.**

 **Until next time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Naruto of the true Ice**

 _Samurai in an Era of Shinobi_

 _Ever since the Shinobi style of life was established there have been those that have denied that very way of living. Those that sought more meaning in their lives as warriors have often turned to the Samurai way._

 _The important difference between the two is an ideological one. While for a Shinobi the end justifies the means, for a Samurai the situation isn't that simple. Samurai operate largely on honor and pride and live by a very clearly defined moral compass that they have dedicated their lives to._

 _Since Shinobi have fought each other ever since they came to be, Samurai have been neutral parties for most of their existence in the elemental nations. Just like Shinobi had banded together over the years resulting in the Warring Clan Period years later, Samurai also formed groups, most of the time swearing fealty to a Lord of some kind. And just like Shinobi have a purpose in following their Clanhead's plans and orders so too do Samurai. Protecting their chosen Lord and dedicating their lives to the way of life they have chosen is what Samurai see as their duty, as the way to fulfill their lives._

 _While in the earlier days there were also substantial differences in fighting-styles, those lines have blurred over time. The usage of Chakra has become the norm even among Samurai as the benefits are undeniable and Kenjutsu is a skill often seen among Shinobi especially in the Land of Lightning, even if usually not as refined as their Samurai counterparts._

 _While the Samurai had been a small faction for a long time their support all over the elemental nations has risen since the first hidden villages were established and their number is high today. As it is the Land of Iron has become both a valuable trading partner and an important player in the political and military side even if they have remained largely neutral over the years._

 _To underestimate their might or influence would be a grave mistake and good relations with the land can only benefit oneself in the long run._

 _Sarutobi Hiruzen_

* * *

"Hajime!"

Instead of immediately jumping into action all three Genin currently in the arena just stood still and observed their opponents.

Deciding on a course of action Naruto opened his mouth.

"Haruno-san, forfeit this fight now or I won't be able to ensure that you will leave this arena unscathed. You have no place in this fight and are in no way ready for this situation." while the dismissive tone used would normally indicate it Naruto didn't mean to be condescending, he was stating a fact.

The slight surprise mixed with a bit of amusement that was visible in the Kumo-nin's eyes didn't matter to Naruto, he had another issue to address for now.

The pink-haired girl however didn't seem to take to his comments lightly.

At first she seemed confused before he finished with his explanation leading her to be visible angry. The indignant shout that followed his own statement was also proof of that.

"Who do you think you are talking to, I trained for this and I earned my participation!" the whole thing was accompanied by the girl threateningly swinging her fist in front of her face.

Exhaling in exasperation and mild disappointment because of the irrational response Naruto resigned himself to his course of action.

"Very well, but don't expect me to go easy on you just because you are a fellow Konoha Shinobi."

Before Sakura had any time to respond Naruto's fist met her square in the gut immediately pushing the air out of her lungs.

As the girl was almost bended over his arm because of the force he had used Naruto used a simple chop to the neck to knock her out so that he could finally focus on his other adversary who until now had remained unmoving, content with just watching and observing the proceedings.

Lowering the unconscious girl to the ground Naruto turned towards the Kumo Genin standing about 20 feet away from him. Naruto ignored the presence of the Proctor appearing behind him before leaving with the girl and chose to instead plan his next move carefully.

He didn't know the full capabilities of his enemy but the same was true in reverse. The Genin from Kumo seemed to be slightly older though fortunately there wasn't much of a difference in height so there was no reach advantage in pure Taijutsu.

While the boy was noticeably muscled it wasn't in such an overly fashion that Naruto could assume that the boy specialized in Taijutsu. And there was the fact that the other male Genin of the Kumo team had been a clear Taijutsu focused frontline brawler and having two of those on the Team wasn't exactly strategically sound for a three man cell even if the assigned Jonin specialized in Ranged Combat to balance out the deficiency that would be created. Genin Teams just weren't created that way.

Since the girl that Neji had obliterated in the Prelims had been a Ninjutsu User Naruto would normally conclude that his current opponent was a Genjutsu user or had some kind of support role in his own Team. But Naruto's instincts were basically screaming at him to not assume that his opponent was not capable in Direct Combat.

So what to do?

Naruto's thought process was interrupted when he saw a small but clearly satisfied smile flit across the Kumo-nin's face. That was telling in many ways. Naruto knew that his performance in the Preliminaries, even if only the parts visible to everyone were considered, had been telling enough to see that no Genin was a match for him in a one-on-one scenario.

Even if that wasn't exactly what Naruto had intended to do, in fact it was the complete opposite of hiding his actual capabilities because this way he would only attract more interest from outside parties, it had happened anyways and he couldn't do anything about it now.

And despite knowing this the Kumo Genin across from him was still sure of his victory? It didn't look like blind arrogance in any way. The boy seemed intelligent enough to not be blinded by his own abilities, so what kind of Genin was he about to fight against?

Well, there was no way to find out but to fight him.

Letting a Kunai fall into either of his hands Naruto lowered his stance to prepare to either go on the offensive or defensive.

"Finally decided to start the fight?" Naruto simply ignored the halfhearted attempt at taunting and focused on his opponent with a straight face, not showing anything.

Seeing that he would have to initiate Naruto dashed forward at running speeds. While it was fast Naruto hadn't used any Chakra to augment his speed so that he could better surprise his opponent with a change in pace.

Reaching his opponent Naruto slashed downwards with his right hand while thrusting the Kunai in his left hand towards the lower right side of the Kumo-nin. A wound to the Kidney wouldn't immediately kill the teen but it would make it much easier to win the fight because of the high amount of blood he would lose if left untreated.

However both attacks were effortlessly blocked. Naruto's right met the Kumo-nin's left, forearm to forearm while Naruto's left wrist was grabbed by the other Genin's right hand. Even though his attacks had been blocked Naruto didn't let that discourage him.

Using his left knee to strike at the forearm of the hand that was holding onto his left while also pulling with his left so that he could hit easier with the knee Naruto was able to free his left hand though he couldn't get the hit in since the Kumo Genin had abandoned the hold he had to evade.

After freeing his hand Naruto jumped back a few feet to create some distance and to possibly be the one on the defensive.

Unfortunately his opponent didn't seem inclined to go on the offensive in any way which meant Naruto could either make this a battle of patience, force his opponent on the offensive or go on the offensive himself once again.

Infusing both of his Kunai with Fūton Chakra Naruto threw them at his opponent before laying his hands on the handles of the Tanto he carried on his lower back and unsheathing them. The blades had been a gift and were clearly made with expert craftsmanship. It was almost sad to have to use them in battle. But Naruto really couldn't let something like sentimental value of an object get in his way of winning this fight.

When Naruto infused the Tanto with Fūton Chakra the difference was instantly felt. The ease with which his Chakra travelled through the blade and the magnitude of the enhancement the blade received wasn't even comparable to the standard-issue Kunai he and every other Konoha Shinobi used. It was on a whole other level.

Rushing towards his opponent, this time with chakra enhanced speed Naruto only took a fraction of the time to reach the Kumo-nin. While the boy had easily evaded the two Kunai that had passed him just a second ago Naruto's melee attack wouldn't be that easy to handle.

The Kunai that was brought up to block the downward swing was easily cut through forcing the slightly older teen to jump away or sustain injury. Naruto wouldn't give him time to breath though.

Following after the boy Naruto was relentless. Since his attacks couldn't be blocked the Kumo-nin was forced completely on the defensive but was restricted to only dodging and while Naruto would compliment the Genin's prowess and speed and especially his reflexes it was clear to him that he was still a bit faster then the Kumo Genin.

Because of this small cuts were starting to pile up on the Genin's body while Naruto was left completely unscathed. As it was obvious that if the fight continued like this Naruto would win his opponent was forced to act, a sentiment only strengthened by the fact that the wall of the stadium was very close to preventing further movement in the direction they were going.

The next thrust from Naruto wasn't evaded like before so that Naruto's Tanto lodged itself into his opponent's left side, between two of the ribs. While the blade did miss the heart it did penetrate the lung of the Kumo-nin. Before Naruto could follow up with his second Tanto however his opponent enacted what seemed to be his plan.

The kick Naruto received to his right knee lead to a loss of balance that made the next attack work. A chop to Naruto's right hand loosened his hold enough that the Kumo Genin could wrest Naruto's hand away from the weapon currently impaled into his lung. The follow-up kick that hit Naruto on the left side of face was clearly infused with Chakra since it did send Naruto about 15 feet to the right giving the other Genin some breathing room and time.

When Naruto came to a stop and picked himself of the ground with only one Tanto still in his possession the Kumo-nin had been able to remove the Tanto from his body before doing a quick patch-up job on the wound with some medical-ninjutsu. It was still in much danger of tearing open but it didn't seem like the boy was losing any more blood or had much trouble breathing.

Naruto was almost kicking himself mentally for not being more effective a moment ago. When used right Fūton Chakra did not just cut open a wound, it tore it open which could make healing very difficult. However when using it this way the Fūton Chakra lost cutting power which meant it couldn't cut through weapons as easily.

Naruto hadn't anticipated the possibility of his opponent willingly taking a hit so he had used Fūton Chakra simply to cut and he couldn't switch that easily to the more complicated way of using the Chakra while in combat, it took more concentration then he could spare while fighting in Taijutsu at his current level.

Well, in the end it didn't really matter, he had dealt a wound to his enemy nonetheless and it was clear to him and probably the Kumo-nin too that Naruto was simply superior when it came to fighting ability even if not by as much as Naruto had expected when fighting Genin, he really would have to step up his training.

Once again facing his opponent Naruto found the slightly older teen breathing slightly heavy but looking fine otherwise. Naruto's bloodied Tanto was gripped in the Kumo-nin's right hand while his left hand was placed in his backpouch.

Naruto didn't exactly want to find out what the boy had in store so he used a quick **Shunshin** to appear in front of his opponent not a second later. Naruto's diagonal slash was blocked by his own Tanto while his right punch hit home in the Kumo-nin's abdomen throwing him back because of the chakra-enhancement.

Not even thinking about letting up Naruto took a deep breath before focusing his chakra in a way he was very familiar with. Doing a single hand-seal Naruto exhaled a gust of pressurized wind in the direction he had thrown his opponent with a thought of ' **Fūton:** **Daitoppa** '.

Even if there was a chance that his opponent had dodged Naruto thought it was rather slim, the boy's injury coupled with the punch should have been enough to atleast daze him long enough for Naruto's jutsu to hit.

When Naruto saw the small balls roll out of the dust cloud his Jutsu had kicked up it was already too late. As yellow smoke exploded from the balls a moment later Naruto was just barely too slow to react in time. While Naruto did hold his breath a moment later the effects of the smoke were obvious. Naruto felt his motor-functions slow down considerably and it was getting harder to think clearly.

While the Kyuubi's Chakra would purge the numbing agent eventually there was a period of time that Naruto would have to deal with the handicap. Jumping backwards out of the smoke Naruto tried his best to formulate a response even considering his current state.

A moment later his opponent dashed out of the smoke cloud he had created at full speed. It was rather obvious that the Kumo-nin was not affected by his own poison as he rushed to Naruto's position at speeds that Naruto couldn't hope to match in his current condition.

While the first slash even if sloppily executed was completely dodged by Naruto the next ones weren't. Multiple attacks later Naruto's form was littered with cuts and he was noticeably breathing heavier.

It was taking all of his control and speed to simply avoid being fatally injured but he could also see that fighting at this level was taking it's toll on his opponent.

Even with his slightly swimming vision Naruto was able to spot signs of exhaustion on the face of the Kumo-nin. It seemed like the wound was making it much harder for the teen to fight the way he normally would and Naruto's last attack seemed to have atleast worsened the condition of his opponent.

The one saving grace for Naruto was the fact that it was becoming easier to think clearly by the second, even if his muscles weren't responding exactly the way he wanted them to. When his opponent seemed to catch a second wind Naruto decided on a vague course of action.

Jumping back by focusing chakra to the soles of his feet Naruto exploded up and backwards.

'Maybe I overestimated my recovery a bit...' at this thought and the realisation that he had severely misjudged the amount of Chakra a slight grimace worked it's way onto Naruto's face.

While not the way Naruto had envisioned, the whole move did serve it's purpose of creating distance. Naruto now stood in front of the wall surrounding the field, having almost travelled half of the arena's length with the jump. The added distance even gave Naruto enough time to recover from his less-then-graceful landing.

The single hand-seal Naruto used was almost as bad as the control Naruto used to focus his Chakra for the technique. At this moment however Naruto didn't need precise control for this to work.

The straight path the other Genin had taken to reach Naruto came to be his undoing as there was no way to possibly dodge or even react fast enough. A second after the hand-seal became visible a explosion of wind rocked the whole arena taking with it the Kumo-nin.

' **Fūton:** **Daitoppa** '

While not as focused as the last one the amount of Chakra Naruto had used had been so big that the sheer magnitude of the technique had balanced out the loss of control.

Everything in front of Naruto was leveled and even the wall of the arena opposite of the one he was standing in front of hadn't been left untouched. The cracks lining the wall were proof of that. As Naruto let his hands fall to his sides and started trying to control his breathing he spotted his opponent on the other side of the arena, pressed against the wall.

While the rapid expenditure of Chakra had left Naruto slightly winded even if he wasn't even close to being low on Chakra, he needed to make sure that he had won. Even if it was still a far cry from his usual **Shunshin** it did it's job in getting him across the arena even if he had to use a hand-seal to get the necessary focus to not travel the wrong distance.

Walking the last step Naruto reached down and grabbed the Kumo-nin by the collar of his shirt to check for a pulse before dropping the obviously unconscious Genin on the ground. In this kind of tournament killing wasn't exactly appreciated since dignitaries and civilians were watching so most matches ended when one party was declared unfit to continue fighting, in whatever fashion that status was achieved.

When Gekkou Hayate appeared next to Naruto in a standard **Leaf-Shunshin** , he finally noticed the unusual quiet of the arena aswell as the pain in his left arm.

"He is unconscious." with that declaration Naruto picked up his second Tanto that had been dropped by the Kumo-nin during his attack and turned to walk towards the exit.

"Boufuu Chūi is unconscious and can't continue the fight. Senju Naruto wins!" the following cheers from the crowd fell on deaf ears as Naruto's eyes roamed the spectator ranges. He was looking for someone specific.

Spotting her excited grin Naruto let a small smile appear on his face before feeling some the tenseness leave his body and adopted a rather neutral look while walking towards the stairs of the exit at a slightly quickened pace, he didn't have an unlimited amount of time after all and he still needed to dress his wounds while not making them too obvious. Miraculously healing in seconds wasn't exactly normal and would raise questions he didn't want to answer.

The slight burning in his coils was evidence enough that the Kyuubi had decided to speed up his healing further beyond his normal already fastened recovery so that he would be ready as soon as possible. However Naruto didn't think it was too much of a stretch to believe that the additional pain that her Chakra caused him didn't bring her some kind of sadistic pleasure. Naruto could imagine that it probably felt empowering to the vixen.

In the end there wasn't much he could do but wait for his wounds to heal and the pain to subside.

* * *

When Naruto arrived at the room for the participants the next three Genin had already assembled in the arena.

Walking towards the railing Naruto decided to wait and see what how this fight would turn out. The different looks he got while walking through the room were ignored, he didn't care if some believed that he had fought well or not. He would only be worthy of praise if he actually achieved something meaningful in this tournament. In his mind passing the first Round of the Third Part wasn't enough for that.

"The second fight between Rock Lee, Nara Shikamaru and Kinuta Dosu will now begin. Are you all ready?" when all three answered in the affirmative Gekkou Hayate raised his arm.

"Hajime!" swinging down his arm and relocating to a position further away the Proctor of the Match watched the proceedings.

Unlike in the last fight there was no talk or silent contemplation, instead Rock Lee immediately burst into action. Dashing towards the Oto-nin the bowl-headed Shinobi attacked with a kick while shouting out the name of his attack in usual energetic fashion.

" **Konoha Senpuu**!"

Unexpectedly Lee's speed hadn't been enough to ensure a direct hit, instead his opponent had blocked the attack with his metal gauntlet though he was still sent skidding back a few feet from the force of the kick.

Before either side could start attacking again a shadow travelled in their direction before splitting and launching at both of their positions. Both Shinobi were able to spot the shadow tendril before it reached them and started jumping backwards to somehow evade the attack following them.

A moment later Shikamaru's shadow stopped following both Genin and receded to his position in the shadow of the wall behind him.

"How unyouthful of you Nara-san to attack your comrade like that!"

While Naruto would agree with the general sentiment in this case it really wasn't applicable. Even if they were fellow Konoha-nin this was a tournament that had pitted participants against each other so there was no way to avoid some Konoha vs Konoha fights. And then there was the fact that the term comrade was so loosely defined that it didn't really mean much for a Shinobi. Comrades could be enemies not moments later since alliances swapped at a rapid pace in the Shinobi world, they were only a method to accomplish your goals after all, even if the Shinobi of one village certainly did share a sense of camaraderie, atleast in Konoha.

Shikamaru seemed to think along the same lines. As his shadow once again extended towards both of the other two Genin. As the Shadow moved to surround them both of the Genin were forced closer to the other which made further interaction unavoidable.

When Shikamaru's Shadow once again retreated to it's wielder both of the Genin had to focus on each other. Instead of being the one to engage Lee was on the defensive this time around.

Metal gauntlet on one arm and Kunai in the other hand Kinuta Dosu rushed towards the spandex-clad Genin. The difference in speed made it simple for Lee to dodge all the physical attacks, the invisible attacks however were what gave him trouble.

Instead of one huge sound wave with a lot of power every swing of the metal gauntlet was strengthened by focused but less powerful sound waves.

Through this Lee's Taijutsu was becoming more and more unbalanced. While the soundwaves weren't strong enough to actually destroy his eardrum, instead the multiple focused soundwaves led to Lee's balance being off which created problems with dodging.

Before more then just some shallow Kunai cuts could be infilicted on Lee however the Oto Genin's advance was halted by multiple Kunai thrown from the side, one of them grazing his cheek while the others were barely avoided.

While the two other Genin had been fighting each other Shikamaru had taken the time to both reposition slightly and to attack them from a distance.

The two seperated Genin hadn't noticed Shikamaru's Shadow approach until it was already to late to react however. The still slightly unbalanced Lee had no chance to dodge in time before he was frozen in place by the Nara technique. The Oto-nin on the other hand did try to jump back but at that point it had already been to late. When the Shadow reached him he was also frozen in place.

Unfortunately for Shikamaru his **Kagemane no Jutsu** had a rather clear flaw. While simple to execute and rather cost-efficient the Jutsu was only able to control the bodies external movements. Because of this there were ways of breaking out of the **Kagemane no Jutsu** if given enough time.

Chakra usage couldn't be restricted by the most basic Nara technique so there was nothing stopping the Chakra-overloaded sound wave from hitting everyone within earshot. The subsequent loss of control on Shikamaru's part coupled with the extreme balance problems for all three Genin present in the arena led to a complete evening of the odds for the most part. While Lee and Dozu himself were much more affected by the Sound attack because of their proximity Shikamaru didn't get away unscathed.

Shikamaru seemed to have been prepared for this kind of attack however. While in obvious discomfort the Nara heir didn't take long to get back his footing and his balance didn't seem to be too tipped of.

Focusing some Chakra to his eyes Naruto could spot something white peeking out of Shikamaru's ear. While it probably protected Shikamaru from most of the effects of the sound-based attacks the last wave had been too powerful to fully block out.

As the one least affected by the attack Shikamaru was the first one able to act. Reaching into a pouch positioned on his lower back Shikamaru pulled out a Explosive Note attached to a Kunai. Hurling the Kunai between the two dazed Shinobi hoping to score an easy win Shikamaru didn't stop. Directly after throwing the Kunai Shikamaru crouched down and extended his shadow to immediately catch his opponents as soon as the smoke from the explosion had disappeared.

While the explosion hadn't been very strong, since the Explosive Note had not been of high strength and the Chakra had simply been used to detonate the Note, both of the Genin had been standing pretty close to eachother so it would have been enough to hit and injure both of them.

When Naruto spotted the movement from Lee's side of the dust cloud it had already been too late. Judging by the shocked look, slight recoiling and his Shadow travelling back to his own position Shikamaru had also noticed the movement in the last moment.

When the spandex wearing Shinobi appeared next to Shikamaru in a position ready to execute a kick it was obvious that this fight had probably been decided from the start. When the kick impacted Shikamaru's midsection, who was only able to raise his arms slightly to protect himself, the Nara heir was flung towards the arena wall at great speeds, only to impact the wall a second later.

After that attack the bowl-haired Genin once again disappeared in a burst of speed that Naruto could only hope to match when using chakra. The dust cloud created by the Explosive Note Shikamaru had used had been thinning more and more and the Oto-nin finally became visible.

The Genin was standing in a defensive position obviously expecting an attack. Standing in a slight crouch with raised arms while looking all around to spot an attack as soon as possible the teen didn't seem to be as affected by his own sound attacks as Naruto would have thought at first.

That however didn't save him from being attacked. The kick from behind arriving a moment later was not blocked leading to the Oto-Genin being thrown a few feet away. Immediately after multiple follow-up punches were arriving from the green-clad Konoha-nin. The sheer speed with which the attacks were delivered was more of a problem then the power of each individual attack even if it could also not be disregarded.

Because of the speed there was no way to evade or block all of the attacks, which led to more and more hits being scored by the Konoha-nin without any chance to retaliate on the part of his opponent.

It was only a matter of time before the fight would come to an end.

A few seconds later another sound wave exploded from the metal gauntlet of the Oto-nin. Lee however seemed to be completely disregard the attack only a moment later before landing a punch square in the face of his opponent.

The Oto-nin was knocked down and thrown back a few feet before coming to a stop on his back without making any movement to get up.

When both Shikamaru and Dosu were confirmed to be unfit for further fighting the match was called in the bowl-haired teen's favor. "The winner of the match is Rock Lee!"

Ignoring the crowd while politely clapping Naruto carefully inspected the green-clad Genin. Not a moment after finishing the fight most of the energy seemed to have left the teen and the exhaustion was now clearly visible. Whatever he had done to get back on his feet it had clearly taken a lot out of him.

He would have to look out for that in the next round.

* * *

"The Third Match between Hyuuga Neji, Kurama Yakumo and Subaku no Kankuro will now begin. Are all participants ready?" receiving three nods in return the Proctor started the match.

"Hajime!" after starting the match Gekkou Hayate once again left the arena to give room to the participants.

Immediately after that the participants exploded into action. Neji had activated his Byakugan as soon as the words had left the Proctors lips and was now rushing towards the Suna-nin.

While the Suna-nin was able to form a defense by using his puppet it didn't last. though it wasn't as simple as going around the puppet Neji's superior speed both aided him in avoiding the different offensive mechanisms built into the puppet and eventually get between it and the Suna-nin controlling.

Two swipes of the hand later the chakra-based string used to control the puppet was cut and Kankuro faced the same problem that every puppeteer had to find a way to deal with.

While the combat deficiency of puppeteers could be made up for by teammates in real combat, in a one-on-one situation like the Chunin Exams there was no possibility of such help arriving. Since operating a puppet usually meant that the puppeteer gave up all ability to fight otherwise for that purpose, melee combat was a good strategy against most of those Shinobi specializing in this type of combat.

A moment after disabling the puppet Neji had cleared the remaining distance between him and his opponent and was already lashing out with debilitating Jyuuken strikes. While it couldn't be said that the Suna-nin didn't try to fight back being matched against a Hyuuga and especially against Neji was just bad luck on the part of his opponents.

While performing a flurry of strikes Neji didn't break form even when dodging mulitple Shuriken thrown from behind him. When his opponent collapsed after two more strikes Neji whirled around only to freeze in his tracks.

Naruto could see why. Even if Neji did have a Byakugan that didn't make him immune to Genjutsu, it just meant it was much easier to detect and subsequently dispel them. When a moment later a small burst of chakra was released from the Hyuuga's form it became clear that he was now free of the illusion that had been used on him.

It was actually very commendable to be able to even ensnare a Hyuuga or Uchiha for even a small amount of time since it was just that much easier for them to detect the changes applied.

Just like with the Suna-nin it was a bad matchup for Yakumo. Her strongest advantage was essentially rendered useless because her opponent was naturally predisposed to countering the very form of combat she specialized in. Even her unprecendented prowess when it came to Genjutsu wasn't of much help to her in this case. While it may have been closer if this fight would have happened years later, right now it was simply impossible to lose for Neji.

That opinion was proven shortly afterwards.

After dispelling the illusion that caught hold of him for a moment Neji was forced to once again avoid a dozen Shuriken thrown at him. Rushing towards the Genjutsu specialist Neji immediately spotted the trap she had laid. While normally a good idea there was now way he would not detect the Explosive Tags hidden underground. Changing his path so as to avoid them he rushed towards his female opponent who had now taken out a Kunai in an effort to defend herself better. Neji could see a look of defiance in her eyes though it was joined by a spark of acceptance, she knew that she would lose but would try anyway.

Reaching his opponent Neji was forced to dodge a downward swing before hitting two tenketsu in the same arm used to attack him. Following this Neji was able to hit his opponent a few times more before a second swing, this time with considerably less force came at him from his left side. Instead of simply ducking beneath the sideways swing Neji grabbed his opponent's wrist, both unbalancing her and opening her up for further attacks from him. Three more strikes hit the arm he was holding essentially making it useless.

When a punch came at him from the other side he caught the attack and hit that arm with multiple Jyuuken strikes aswell. A palm thrust to his opponent's stomach forced her backwards a few feet making her land on her back on the ground with both arms disabled.

Seeing her struggle to get up but failing at it Neji decided to speak, "There is no loss of dignity in surrendering when there are no chances of victory, it is the smart decision to choose ones own battles wisely. Forfeit the match, there is no sense in continuing this any further."

After struggling a few more times to get up with any success Yakumo resigned herself to her decision. "Proctor, I can't continue I forfeit this match."

The sickly looking Proctor that had appeared shortly after Yakumo had fallen nodded his head at that and turned to the audience.

"The winner of the Third Match of the Chunin Exams is Hyuuga Neji!" once again a round of applause ensued as the two defeated Genin were carried out of the arena while the sole winner left towards the competitor's lounge.

"Would Aburame Shino, Subaku no Temari and Uchiha Sasuke please enter the arena?"

* * *

Naruto didn't outwardly acknowledge Neji's arrival in the viewing area designated for the participants. He was looking at the three Genin currently standing in the arena.

After watching the Proctor start the match and the three Genin test the waters with a few low-risk attacks for a bit Naruto spoke up without lifting his gaze from the proceedings in the arena.

"All of these fights have been rather one-sided. Technique-wise there has been one clear favorite in every fight now. Your match was barely a contest, Lee's pure physical abilities were always going to trump Shikamaru's wit at this level, and my Ninjutsu was clearly superior to everything my opponents had to offer, though I have to admit that he was better then I had expected."

While not exactly embarrassed about that fact, it was somewhat irksome for Naruto to know that he could have won his fight much easier.

"And this time the Uchiha's chances of winning are much higher then those of his opponents. While I would say that Shino has a chance of beating him I'd still not bet on it."

Only moments after saying this Naruto watched the Suna-nin's Fūton attack get turned against her by a well-timed Katon Jutsu.

"That was pretty well done, and that Jutsu did have a decent amount of strength." this time Neji had spoken up but there was no response from Naruto either as both Konoha Genin continued to watch the fighting below.

It seemed that the Suna-kunoichi had not been able to completely evade the attack as she now sported various burns that looked rather painful. However that didn't seem to inhibit her much as only moments later she once again launched one of her wind blasts at the two Konoha Genin currently looked in a Taijutsu battle.

As the two had to separate to evade the technique all three Genin were once again facing each other.

"Let's see what you decide to do now..." this time Naruto's muttered words weren't meant for Neji.

* * *

In a flash of movement Sasuke was gone and had reappeared next to Temari, his leg already outstretched. There wasn't enough time for the Kunoichi from Suna to react so she was send flying backwards from the force of the kick that hit her midsection.

Six handseals later his cheeks bulged before a fireball was released from his mouth with a shout of " **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu**!". While Sasuke was still spewing out flames he was forced to move by multiple kaikachu advancing on his position.

The chakra sucking insects had move towards him from the side and while there weren't that many of them even this number would leave him without chakra in minutes. Cutting the flow of Fire Chakra Sasuke pushed himself away from the danger getting ever closer while still keeping his other opponent in his peripheral vision.

Reaching for his backpouch Sasuke produced an explosive tag. The flying insects had gotten close enough that there was no need for anything to transport the tag. Letting go of the piece of paper Sasuke focused chakra to both ignite the tag and to enhance his muscle to clear some distance.

Placing his hands in the required seal while mid-air made the tag light up in an explosion negating the threat of the insects for now.

Before he was able to move a gust of slicing winds impacted his position obscuring that part of the arena in a cloud of dust.

With pain visible on her face Temari stood with her fan still outstretched from the last technique. She wasn't given any time for break though as a swarm of insects immediately headed for her position. With a grunt of effort more wind blades were sent towards the advancing cloud of chakra-suckers.

The rather simple but nonetheless effective technique was easily able to disperse the insects while also severely diminishing their numbers.

Carefully watching the bespectacled Konoha-nin that still stood in the same spot that he had started the fight in Temari considered her options while keeping her other opponent in her sight.

The Uchiha was obviously not able to evade her attack judging by the multiple tears and cuts all over his body and clothes.

Seeing those crimson eyes focusing on her Temari prepared herself only to see them widen in surprise just as she heard her brother shout at her, "BEHIND YOU TEMARI!"

Only able to turn her head in time Temari took the butt of a Kunai to the temple before her vision rapidly went dark. The last thing she saw was the grey high-collared jacket of her Aburame opponent before losing consciousness.

* * *

"Quite the strategy from Aburame-san." the both of them had been silently observing the fight without any conversation until Naruto had broken the silence.

"Both the Uchiha and the Suna Kunoichi were too preoccupied with eachother to notice anything, though the idea is still very good."

* * *

Sasuke now found himself faced with two Shino's at once with no idea which one the real one is.

As he was looking for clues who the real one of the two was Shino took action.

While one of the two advanced on him with a Kunai in hand the other let loose a swarm of kaikachu before reaching for behind his back were a pouch was located.

When the two Konoha-nin met with their respective Kunais clashing against each other the insects had almost reached their position. Moments later Sasuke was once again forced on the defensive as the insects were rapidly closing the gap that he had created by jumping backwards.

Doing a backflip Sasuke flowed through the necessary handseals mid-air again and let loose another fireball on the cloud of flying annoyances with a shout of " **Katon:Gokakyu no Jutsu**!" after landing in a crouch.

Seeing that his technique had accomplished it's goal the Uchiha once again searched for his two opponents. Barely hearing the sound of something cutting through the air he was barely able to avoid a hail of Shuriken coming through the fireball he had just released. Dodging to the side to avoid the sharp projectiles he was immediately faced with Shino.

Before he was able to widen the distance Sasuke took a nasty cut to the right arm. The lapse in concentration that had lead to him focusing on the hail of Shuriken was quickly forgotten as his Sharingan easily spotted Shino's other hand coming up for a punch to his midsection.

Twisting his body to the side to evade the attack Sasuke grabbed onto the appendage intended to strike him and struck backwards with his elbow to hit his fellow Genin in the face.

Seeing the dodge shortly before it was performed Sasuke made a split-second decision.

Thrusting upwards with his knee he was able to score a hit on the arm still in his grasp. The impact and resulting damage were enough to dissolve the Clone back into it's components. Unfortunately for the Uchiha however those components happened to be the same insects that he had been careful about for the whole fight.

Feeling some of the chakra-sucking creatures crawling along his arm Sasuke tried to gain as much distance as possible by substituting himself with a branch that had been cut from the tree by the Fūton jutsu from before.

Doing his best to quickly get the kaikachu off his body as he could already feel them slowly drain some of his chakra, Sasuke didn't lose sight of his now-single opponent.

The quiet Aburame wasn't an easy opponent, he would admit that even if he didn't like it.

Right now the two were probably about even. While Sasuke had been forced to expand a lot of Chakra already he had also reduced Shino's kaikachu population by quite the sizeable margin.

Realizing that he would have to end this as soon as possible Sasuke went on the offensive.

Rushing towards his stoic opponent, who hadn't made a move in his direction, Sasuke gripped two Kunai in his hands.

Enhancing his speed for the last meters by adding a bit more chakra the Uchiha was able to gain the element of surprise. Opening with a left swing and instantly following up by stabbing forward with the other Kunai Sasuke tried to gain control of the flow of the combat.

While his swing was dodged with a simple step backwards the Kunai he had used to stab was parried to the side with a Kunai. Sasuke easily dodged the forearm aimed for his throat by ducking under it. His opponent didn't see his hand coming up for a punch to the chin until it was too late and he couldn't evade anymore.

When his other hand came up to follow up the hit it was once again parried though sloppier then the last time. Using his strength to overpower the slightly disoriented Aburame he was able to knock the Kunai out of his hand before hitting him with a knee to the gut.

Before Shino was able to counter in anyway he found a Kunai held to his throat and two Sharingan staring at him.

Not seeing any way to still win this fight Shino decided on the most logical course of action.

Raising his hand Shino raised his voice a bit so that he could be heard, "Proctor, I forfeit this fight, I don't see any way for me to win anymore."

The statement was accompanied by an understanding nod from the Proctor and the crowd starting the cheer loudly.

Sasuke was clearly pleased by the outcome of the fight if the smug look he sported was any indication though small signs of exhaustion were also visible on his face.

* * *

"So a dojutsu battle in the Second Round? And the last Senju against a Branch Hyuuga for the Finals, quite the Chunin Exams this time around right?" the somewhat arrogant statement was accompanied by the slightest hint of humor in Naruto's tone that Neji easily picked up on.

Sharing a small smile with his best friend he couldn't stop himself from retaliating, "Well, don't get too confident, you still have to win against Lee I don't think he'll make it easy for you even if I do believe you'll win. Who knows maybe you will be so exhausted that it won't even be hard to beat anymore?"

"We'll see." the slight chuckle shared between the two was the only thing that accompanied the statement until silence once again settled in, only broken moments later by the Chakra-enhanced voice of the Hokage.

"Those were quite the fights that we were able to see and I congratulate the Genin that were able to defeat their opponents but also those that fought hard. You all made your villages proud. There will be a twenty minute break until the next fight between Senju Naruto and Rock Lee will begin."

"See you in the finals Neji." without another word being exchanged between the two Naruto left to get ready for his fight.

* * *

After the twenty minute break Naruto and Lee were now facing each other in the arena.

"Hajime!"

Instead of immediately jumping into the fray like the last time the unusually quiet spandex-clad teen simply assumed his stance and observed Naruto quietly.

'Well, if he isn't going to start I guess I will.', reaching for his backpouch with one hand Naruto could see Lee's eyes tracking every movement though he did nothing to initiate.

Grabbing the Shuriken that he had been searching for and infusing a single one with Fūton Chakra Naruto let the metal stars fly with the same movement that he used to bring his arm forward while also jumping backwards.

A moment later Lee was already moving, easily dodging the projectiles and aiming a kick at his face as soon as he was close enough.

Instead of trying to evade the attack Naruto crossed his arms in front of his face to defend and let himself be thrown away by the force.

While mid-air Naruto felt the bones in his arms rattle from the impact. It seemed like blocking was out of the questions.

Sliding along the ground after landing on his feet Naruto saw the punch coming and was able to turn to the side to evade. Lee didn't leave him any breathing room however as he was immediately forced to duck underneath another swing from his fellow Konoha-nin.

Realising that he wouldn't be able to rely on his Ninjutsu alone for this fight Naruto struck his opponents shin with a kick hoping to unbalance him slightly.

Instead of losing his footing though Lee simply moved his leg with the attack thereby turning his body and putting himself in a position to follow up with a roundhouse-kick aimed for Naruto's side.

Punching against the offending appendage from below finally did the trick and forced Lee to jump backwards.

While the Taijutsu-focused Genin was still mid-jump Naruto had already set his hands in the right hand-seal and focused his Chakra.

' **Fūton: Daitoppa'**

Being mid-air there was no way for Lee to avoid being hit by the pressurized gust of wind. Curling up into a ball while still in the air to minimize damage Lee was blasted across the arena before landing about 60 feet away from Naruto.

Naruto however hadn't been idle during his opponent's flight. Finishing the last of the 44 hand-seals while stomping his foot on the ink-black seal inscribed on the scroll laying before him Naruto unleashed the water from it's storage and with it a B-ranked Technique.

' **Suiton: Suiry** **ū** **dan'**

With a bestial roar the serpentine dragon rose from the water rapidly gushing out of the seal at Naruto's feet.

Still holding the final seal Naruto utilized his Chakra to control the dangerous technique while also tuning out the excited cheers from the crowd. 'Civilians are so easily excited.'

Making the dragon curl itself around him protectively Naruto waited. At this range there wasn't even a low chance that he would hit and the Chakra he expended for maintaining the technique was inconsequential especially when compared to the amount used to initially form it.

While he could have understood a slightly surprised reaction from his opponent what he got was a bit different.

"Your fires of Youth truly burn brightly Naruto-kun! It is an honor to be able to test myself against a prodigy such as yourself and finally prove that hard work trumps natural talent! Allow me to show my own flames of Youth to you!"

The corresponding shout of "YOUTH!" from somewhere in the audience was simply ignored in favor of closing his mouth after it had opened in shock from the ridiculous exclamation. Who said something like that during a fight?

Then however Naruto saw Lee move.

The other Genin had somehow become even faster then before which could only spell trouble for him. Doing his best to track the green blur that was his opponent Naruto attacked, not intending to let himself be forced onto the defensive again. With another roar the water dragon moved.

Slinking through the air the mass of water impacted the ground just in front of Lee who had been able to slow down in time.

The resulting shock wave and the water, now free from the control of Naruto's Chakra, didn't do anything to their target who had already appeared next to Naruto, leg extended for a kick.

With a cry of "Konoha Senpu" the spinning kick met it's mark throwing Naruto across the field before he impacted the wall of the arena.

Not having any chance to react a fist planted itself into Naruto's stomach forcing the air out of his lungs.

'Enough is enough.' with an uncharacteristic snarl on his face he kicked Lee away from on top of him. Getting up from his position in the wall Naruto focused his Chakra all over his body, amplifying his strength and speed.

When Lee appeared once again, this time with his fist outstretched, Naruto grabbed his opponents arm while turning his body. Continuing the motion he used the arm in his grip to throw the other Genin away from him.

Palming two Kunai and channeling his Fūton Chakra through them Naruto let the metal blades fly so that they would be there to greet Lee when he landed. Not waiting to see the results Naruto once again chained hand-seals together before unleashing the resulting stone spikes all around Lee's estimated landing position.

As was to be expected however Lee didn't remain idle during this time. Angling his body while in the air the Konoha Genin was able to effect his own trajectory enough that the Kunai didn't present any danger.

Seeing this Naruto, who still had his palms on the ground channeled more Chakra towards the Stone Spikes elongating them and making it harder for Lee to evade. It didn't matter however as a moment later Lee was able to gain a foothold at the side of one of the spikes and using it as a springboard cleared the area of spikes in a single jump.

When both young Genin once again stood facing each other there was a lull in combat as Naruto tried to come up with an effective strategy and Lee looked at his opponent in a peculiar way.

"I see that you are deserving of your name as prodigy, and were blessed with incredible talent."

Relaxing his stance slightly Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion, 'Why exactly is he telling me this?'.

"You see Naruto-kun, I wasn't. I have earned everything I am able to do now through hard work, countless hours of it. And right now, right here I finally have the chance to prove to everyone that hard work will beat natural talent." after finishing his monologue Naruto could see a change in Lee's stance just before the spandex-clad Genin looked towards the spectators range in a sweeping glance.

Seemingly having been given approval for the course of action he was about to take Lee lowered his stance and a look of extreme concentration crossed his face. Not a moment later Lee rushed forward in a display of speed that made his earlier performance look slow in comparison.

Naruto not at all prepared for this increase had no choice but to prepare for whatever was coming. While even with his eyesight enhanced with Chakra as it was he could track Lee directly the dust kicked up by the circular movement made it clear how Lee was moving.

Expecting an attack to follow soon Naruto bend his knees further and raised his arms in an attempt to prepare himself.

After moments of circling Naruto Lee appeared in front of his opponent close to the ground and his leg already extending. Not being able to move in time Naruto took the kick to chin that sent him upwards into the air.

After pushing off the ground with both arms Lee followed the upwards movement of his adversary and capitalised on the situation with a series of kicks to Naruto's midsection elevating him further and further.

When the two reached the apex of the upwards movement the bandages around Lee's arms that he had untied while moving before, circled Naruto trapping him in a cocoon that restricted the movement of his limbs. Lee while positioning himself behind Naruto was now gripping both sides of the construct he had created.

Turning himself and Naruto with him upside down he also started to the both of them around their own axis picking up speed as they moved towards the ground.

* * *

While most in the audience were stumped by the development of the fight as the Senju heir had seemed to be having the upper hand until now a minority that was aware of what exactly was happening didn't share the sentiment.

"I hope you didn't do what I think you did Gai? Are you aware that Lee is still a Genin? Even taking personal investment into account there is a limit and I had thought you understood that." Kakashi didn't try to hide the anger and disappointment from his voice as he addressed one of his fellow Jonin.

"You don't know him, Kakashi. You haven't seen the desperation in his eyes or the dedication that shines in them when he is training. The spirit that boy possesses is something I haven't seen in anybody else. There is nothing that can stop!" Gai was interrupted by the sound of an explosion in the middle of the arena.

* * *

When both Genin had been moments away from impacting the ground the cocoon and both Genin with it were blown up in an explosion. The ensuing dust cloud coupled with some smoke bombs triggered by the explosion led to very bad visibility in the arena as a whole.

The silence in the arena that had followed was only broken when the sound of something hard hitting a soft surface was heard though the cause remained unseen.

When the smoke finally cleared to reveal the arena and the two contestants the result of the match became visible for all.

Standing above his unconscious opponent Naruto was visibly in pain and breathing labouredly. In his left hand was a Kunai that had obviously been used to knock Lee out.

While his front seemed fine his back was another story. A big part of his Kimono was gone, blown away by the explosion, and the skin hidden beneath was littered with second degree burns and multiple blisters from the heat that the explosion had caused.

The pouch that was normally at his back was entirely gone and the contents could be found littering the arena.

Lee who was laying on the ground with his front seemed fine though only his back was visible.

"He needs medical attention and quick." that were the first words that Hayate heard when he appeared next to the Genin.

Nodding his head the Jonin called for the medical staff that was already prepared beforehand before calling the match, "Winner: Senju Naruto!".

The crowd immediately burst into applause at the exciting match being finished.

As two Medic-nin tended to Lee and carried him away on a stretcher a third one had already started leading Naruto out of the arena while starting treatment on his back while they walked.

* * *

 **Very sorry for the long wait but I just couldn't find a satisfying way to end the fights for a long time and was a bit preoccupied with other stuff.**

 **I hope the chapter was enjoyable and I'm sure that the next chapter will not take that long since I will have more free time going forward.**

 **As usual I am grateful for every reader and review since they do motivate me a lot.**


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